


Full Metal Panic One Shots

by Connie_flint_125



Category: Full Metal Panic
Genre: A/U, All anime - Freeform, Alternate Universe, Anime, F/M, Manga, Sex, light novels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-04-23 03:34:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 13
Words: 53,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4861433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Connie_flint_125/pseuds/Connie_flint_125
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This started off as a one shot of Kaname and Sousuke and kinda evolved from there. There is mention of a Shadowrun but this is NOT cross over; although the group we introduced will be in the story it's not major. This is A/U folks. <br/>So, Kaname and Sousuke in a relationship, and well-lots of stuff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is SMUT; explicit and crass and rough SEX. It's not just rated M for mature folks, or even NC 17 it's rated R-meaning lots of sex lots of cursing and even violence. Don't read if you don't want to read about SEX!!!

 

**Full Metal Panic**

**Home Room**

Sagara Sousuke stared covertly at Kaname Chidori’s white panty covered pussy; again.

Recently she was always bending over in front of him; either facing him so he could see deeply into her cleavage (if not her actual nipples as he did this morning), or with her back to him her ass in the air so he could see exactly what he was seeing now. Her perfectly trimmed pussy covered in sheer white lace with pink hearts, her favorite pair of panties that matched the bra she was wearing; which didn’t really cover her breasts.

Sergeant Sagara was used to keeping his mind on the job at hand, he believed he had been chosen for this mission for that exact reason. Yes, Captain Testarossa had said he needed to learn to act like a teenager his age, but surely that didn't mean constantly thinking about sex.

With Chidori-san specifically.

The military boy refocused his attention on the windows and the grounds outside; satisfied there were no threats he turned his head to face front and was rewarded with the site of her heart-shaped ass still in the air and the lace of her white panties showing the trimmed blue-black of her pubic hair that was absolutely no protection for her pussy. She knew what she was doing; he was sure of it because he could smell her arousal.

He stifled a sigh and turned his eyes to the teacher who had just walked in. His charge quickly sat down, turning briefly in her seat to look at him. He wasn't sure what the look she gave him meant – he didn't really understand her at all.

* * *

 

** Lunch **

After assuring himself his traps would catch any would-be kidnappers of his Whispered charge; without harming anyone who didn't deserve it since Kaname was so insistent upon it, Sergeant Sagara joined his friends for lunch. Kaname began berating him for being late again, all the while rubbing her body against his side. She was also piling food onto a plate she had placed in front of him.

The firmness of her teardrop shaped breasts distracted him from most of what she had been saying. She got the inevitable 'are you going to blow up the school' and he answered automatically.

“No, Kaname, the traps will only catch would-be kidnappers,” to which she put her raven head upon his shoulder and sighed dramatically. Sagara began eating the lunch she had provided while thinking about her breasts.

The bell rang and the cafeteria cleared out quickly, leaving the two of them alone.

“Sousuke, look at me,” Kaname said as she stood up. He thought she had been too distracted to notice her shirt was undone and her bra; which matched her panty, was showing. He cataloged the shape and size of her nipples as he raised his eyes to hers.

“Yes, Kaname-san” he queried.

“Never mind,” she said after a moment, then she kissed his cheek. He blushed as her nipples hardened as they brushed against his arm. 

“Your shirt is unbuttoned, Kaname,” he told her in his matter-of-fact way. Then he frowned when she sighed.

“And you didnt’ even look,” she whispered. He didn’t admit that he had, but he did wonder why she wanted him to.

* * *

Two weeks passed like this. He found it hard to concentrate on his studies or his duties as the days passed. He found himself wanting more and more to teach Kaname a lesson about not teasing him. Of course, what he really wanted to do was fuck her.

Sousuke heard Mao and Kurz talking about a hot spring that was a few hours drive from Jindai High School and came up with a plan. He got Kurz and Melissa to agree it would be a good idea for them to relax as well as to get to know Kaname a little better and give her the chance to get to know them better. He then got her friends to agree to come along. Kyoko, Mitsuki, Yukkuri, Elodee, and Shirji were happy to join Kaname, Melissa, Kurz and Sousuke at the hot springs that weeknd. Granted they would only be gone one night but  it would still be fun. Melissa Mao insisted on having Captain Testarossa join them as well, even though none of the others knew her.

“Are you sure we’ll all fit in here, Sagara?” Mao asked the Sergeant, who merely nodded decisively.

“You and Kurz will be in the front seats, Kurz will drive and you will navigate. Cap-er- your cousin Tessa will sit on the front bench seat with the girls. The men will sit in the second bench seat.

“Where will I sit?” Kaname asked Sousuke. She was wearing another short skirt, this one red checked with a matching top that showed her midriff when she moved. The wind blew lightly and lifted the back of her skirt, showing Sousuke the red lace of her panties. He grinned to himself. Perfect.

“On his lap!” Mitsuki shouted, causing Kaname to blush a deep red, but could find no way to argue the arrangement. Sousuke had been sure to leave only one seat available to sit on in the last row, she would have to sit on his lap. It was a three hour drive to the spa. Sousuke planned on using all three hours to get his desire for her out of his system and teach her a lesson about teasing at the same time.

* * *

The music was loud fifteen minutes into the drive and Kaname had been gyrating on Sousuke’s lap the whole time. He was gritting his teeth with each brush of her ass against him. He finally had enough when she lifted the hem of her short skirt as she rocked her hips backward and forward. He reached up and grabbed her hips, pulling her to a stop with the hard length of him nestled along the crack of her heart-shaped ass.  Her motions stilled instantly and the angry retort she had been about to blast him with died on her pink lips.

Sousuke leaned forward, put his mouth close to her ear and spoke.

“Ever since you learned I was your bodyguard you have been flashing me sights of your breasts and pussy. Don’t bother to deny it,” his voice was soft but solid steel. “White lace panties yesterday with red hearts. You keep your pubic hair trimmed very nicely,” the sound of his voice caused her breath to become very slow for one long moment, then it became very shallow and fast.

“My favorite bra is the one that matches this thong you are wearing right now. Are you wearing it today?” he asked, she gulped and nodded. Something about his voice in her ear from behind her was more erotic than she had thought possible. Knowing he had actually been paying attention even though she hadn’t thought he was was doubling her excitement.

“Good,” his voice was rougher than she’d ever heard it; far more raw. She didn’t know what he meant though until his right hand slipped under her mini skirt and then under the front of her thong. “Don’t make a sound,” he said against her ear as his fingers tugged the flimsy cloth off and down her legs after pushing them closed.

He then moved her knees to the outside of his to spread her legs wide. Once more he told her to be silent as he slid the fingers of his right hand through her raven pubic hair to press her clit. She had to bite her lips to keep from crying out, although she did moan. The music was loud enough to cover the small sound. He teased her pleasure button for a few minutes.

“Did you think you could get away with flaunting yourself in front of me forever?” he asked as he slid two fingers into her virgin tight passage while his left hand went under her top and bra to cup her left breast; pinching her nipple and rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. Her breath came in short gasps as she nodded, unable to speak. His chuckle sent shivers of both fear and desire down her spine.

His hands ceased their torturous ministrations and he moved her forward briefly. Before she could regain her senses, however, he had lifted her. She could feel the tip of his penis pressing against her opening. Without any further warning he thrust into her. The long, hot, hard length of him broke through her hymen and was fully sheathed inside her before she could do more than gasp.  Her whole body tensed for several minutes.

“Breathe, Kaname,” he instructed with humor laced passion. She took a breath only to feel him go deeper.

“So-Sousuke?” she asked in a strangled whisper.

“You kept showing me, Kaname. I could only guess you wanted me, and I couldn’t take it any longer. You’re mine now,” she shivered at the possessive phrasing and tone. Then his hands were on her again, his right hand once more caressing her clit and his left hand once more teasing her left breast.

He used his right hand to lift the Whispered girl up along his dick before letting her slide back down. Kaname caught on after two strokes and began to flex her thighs to lift herself. She quickly found the rhythm that gave them both the most pleasure. She lay her head back against his shoulder as he met each of her downstrokes with his own thrusts up.

“Kiss me,” he ordered and she turned her head, opening her mouth; his tongue plunged inside her mouth to the opposite rhythm of their coupling. She moaned into his mouth as she came for the first time in her life.

Sousuke goaned himself as her pussy tightened even more on his dick making him come harder than he had in years. It felt so good he forgot to pull out of her.  He kept his fingers on her clit, lightly stroking her while she dozed. The music had changed to dubstep from the heavy metal when Sousuke began to nibble on her lips. She moaned softly and arched her hips to press her clit more firmly against his fingers.

“Sousuke,” she whispered in a pleading voice. Kaname didn’t know what she was asking for; although he did. Sagara kissed her deeply and made sure her breasts were covered as he slid his hard dick out of her very wet pussy. Her moan of disappointment brought a wicked chuckle from the teenage war veteran. He pulled something down from the seat back in front of them. The seat back was higher than the seat they were in.

“Stand up, Kaname-san,” she opened her mouth and he laid a finger covered in her juices against her pink lips to keep her from speaking. “I want you to sing with the music, smile and laugh,” he leaned in and kissed her again. “Don’t let them guess what I’m doing to you,” he ordered against her lips. She gulped and nodded.

She put her knees on the bench to lean over the seat in front of her and realized her ass was sticking out towards the military boy; just as if she were in her desk at school. She started singing with the pop song that was on now because Mitsuki had complained about the dubstep. She started singing with the music as ordered and the others joined in. Once more the van was lively and the music seemed louder.

All the while Sousuke was lapping greedily at Kaname’s swollen pussy. He would suck her clit, then roll it between his lips before pulling it with his teeth. He would plunge his tongue deep into her passage before repeating the pattern. Three songs had gone by and she didn’t know how she managed to keep going after the five orgasms he had brought her to, how none of her friends noticed.

Then he plunged what felt like his dick inside her. She knew he was still sitting down, though; so it couldn’t be that, whatever it was he worked in and out of her as he sucked hard on her clit.

The current song had a high note she hit as she came again.

Tessa called for a bathroom break right then.

"Go to the bathroom by yourself, make sure no one is in there with you. Clean up as best you can Miss Chidori."

Kaname went into the family restroom that was near the back of the rest stop, being sure none of her friends followed her. She used the towels provided to clean her vagina and legs of his semen and her juices. Touching herself as she did caused her to gasp with pleasure as she orgasmed again. Her pussy felt sore in a way that reminded her of him being inside her.

Chidori leaned against the bathroom wall as she tried to decide if she wanted to say something to Melissa or Kurz; to stop him from doing it again. Would they? She could trade places with Tessa; but Tessa would find a way to get Sousuke fuck her. Kaname didn't want that.

While she was thinking; the military specialist lowered himself into the room. He covered her mouth with his before she could scream. He then picked her up and set her on the edge of the counter. She felt him unzip his fly seconds before he thrust his dick inside her still quivering quim. Sagara rode her hard and fast. He kept his thrusts deep while he held her hips tightly. Their breath was loud in the large room due to the tile.

"Come for me, Chidori, squeeze my dick," he commanded against her mouth. When she came again he had to hold her head still as he kissed her to swallow the sound. Once again he forgot to pull out of her vagina as he filled her with his cum.

They leaned against one another, panting while their heart rates slowed down. Kaname groaned softly when she felt him hardening inside her again.

“I can’t,” she moaned, tears forming in the corners of her eyes from the pleasure/pain of him thrusting slowly in and out of her again. She jumped when there was a sudden thumping on the door.  Sousuke lifted her top and began to suck on her left nipple as he increased the speed of his fucking.

“Kaname!!” Melissa shouted in sing-song, followed by Tessa.

“Chidori-san!!”

“You’d better answer,” Sagara growled low against her breast, “Mao can pick locks,” he rotated his hips as he shifted her; driving deeper into her. “You want Tessa to see me fucking your pussy?” The crass way he was speaking made her feel both excited and filthy. She wasn’t sure how she managed to clear her throat and sound normal; however, when she did answer them.

“I’ll be done in a minute Melissa, Tessa,” she called out to them.

“Do you want a soda?” Melissa asked just as Sousuke opened her legs farther apart and began to pound into her, she had her hands on the mirror behind her to keep from slamming into the silvered glass. His pelvic bone was slamming against her clit now, causing pleasure to spike through her body with each thrust.

“Yes!” she shouted. “A-a soda would be nice,” she managed to say normally.

“Okay, we’ll see you in the van,” Tessa said through the door. As they were walking away the two of them heard Tessa ask about where Sagara could have gotten off to.

“I’m getting off in you,” he growled again as he came once more, this time triggering Kaname’s orgasm.  He kissed her deeply, possessively before leaving the bathroom the way he’d come in. She cleaned herself up once more, not allowing herself to cry.

Suddenly he was behind her; taking her shoulders in his hands and turning her.

“Don’t cry, Kaname,” he whispered as he pulled her into his arms to hold her. She struggled; punching him in the chest and stomach. He merely grunted and held her tighter.

“Why? Why treat me like this?” she asked as she sobbed.

“You think no one else could see your favorite panties?” he asked, and the possessive anger in his voice hushed her.

“You know which one’s are my favorite?” she asked.

“As do Kurz, Elodee and Yizhi,” he said, again angrily. She looked up at him in confusion.

“You know Kurz and Mao watch everything we do; they are my backup. I have camera’s on my school clothes,” he said. Her brown eyes widened in shock and horror when she realized what she’d been doing when she kept giving Sousuke a peep show.

“Elodee sits behind me in homeroom and Yizhi sits beside me in history; both of them can see your panties, your bra and even your nipples,” she was shaking her head no, denying that she had let them see anything.

“And that is just the boys who are your friends who have said nothing; what do you think the other boys are saying?” he asked her. She swallowed hard. She knew what kind of things they would say about her; and all because she had wanted to get Sousuke’s attention.

“I-I-I wasn’t thinking about that,” she admitted finally. He kissed her again, once more it was very possessive.

“You wanted me to want you,” he laughed softly. “I did the moment I saw you. You wanted my attention,” His hands were under her skirt again, cupping her cheeks and lifting her. “Now you have it, you belong to me,” he kissed her once more.

“Get back to the van, we have another hour and a half before we reach the spa. I’m not done making you cum,” he said with severity. This time she shivered in anticipation instead of fear.

 


	2. The Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sousuke starts to show Kaname how he feels. Will she get it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yea, I don't own anything of Full Metal Panic

**Monday after trip to Spa**

Kaname Chidori stood in front of her locker holding her shoes in her hands. She was staring at the envelope that was lying in her locker. She wanted it to be a love note from Sousuke, but was sure he wouldn’t know what that was. Yes he had used the whole two days of the trip to the spa to have sex with her; yes he had even repeated the episodes in the van on the way back home.

She hadn’t heard from him since, though. So she really wanted this to be a love letter from him.

“Hello, Kana-chan. How are you feeling today?” Ren asked her, causing he to jump since she hadn’t heard her come up.

“Oh, Ren-chan! I’m feeling well; how about you? I’m sorry you couldn’t join us on our trip to the hot springs,” Kaname responded, taking the letter out and putting her shoes in her locker.

“Father said I could go next time,” Ren said with a smile. She was always so soft spoken and correct, Kaname wasn’t sure how the two of them were friends. She was grateful they were, though. Kaname had gone most of her life without friends so was always grateful to everyone who wanted to be her friend. She tried to treat them well; even Sousuke. It was harder with him, though. She couldn’t read him like she could everyone else.

“I will see you in history, Kana-chan,” Ren said as the first bell for homeroom rang. Kaname nodded and took off for the class herself.

Sousuke hadn’t shown up to walk her to school like normal, and he wasn’t in school yet. She was worried. She knew she had slept very soundly once she had gotten home. Sousuke hadn’t let her get much sleep over the weekend. He kept telling her she was his and he would make sure she remembered that.

Her body ached in ways she didn’t know a body could ache and she had been ravenously hungry this morning. She was also very relaxed. She stretched lightly as she reached her desk in homeroom; then noticed that Sousuke wasn’t in his desk either. Now she was starting to worry.

The teacher went over the attendance with the class and then discussed school events that were coming up; and while he did she opened up her letter. Her heart began to pound when she saw it _was_ from Sousuke. She frowned when she finished reading the paragraph. He wanted her to do _what_?

‘ _Kaname,_

_I am certain you are concerned since I am not in school right now. I want you to know I am still in Jindai; and I have not forgotten you. You are still my mission and still my number one concern. My focus has been on your safety, on keeping you out of the hands of the KGB and other groups who want to use you for your Whispered abilities. To that end I want you to excuse yourself from school right now and meet me at the train station after you’ve changed into your civilian clothes. I wish to requisition class specific apparel for you. I have timed this message to be read at 8:15 am, it will take you fifteen minutes to extract yourself from the premises and another thirty minutes to reach your domicile and change into your black jeans and yellow top. Please wear the yellow bra and panty set underneath this outfit. From there you can reach the train station in approximately twenty minutes. Do not be late._

_Sgt. Sousuke Sagara_

  


Kaname looked at the clock, if she did what he said she’d have just enough time to get home and change.

 _If_ she did what he said. Then she realized she was angry with him and wanted to give him a piece of her mind. He spent two whole days making love to her and then expects her to jump to do his bidding?

Kaname jumped up from her seat and excused herself from the class, saying she had to go home right away. The teacher simply waved her out, she was a good student and didn’t miss many days. Even if she did miss, she was always at the top of her class.

She made it home before the thirty minutes he had predicted and quickly showered and changed, but not into what he had dictated. She decided to wear her blue sundress with yellow piping and under it she wore her dark blue push up bra with matching thong. She pulled her hair up into a bun with one long strand of hair falling out of it down her back. She kept  her shoes simple; a pair of comfortable walking flats in the same yellow as the piping on her dress.

The raven haired sixteen year old grabbed her matching bag and headed out the door to the train station. She wasn’t going anywhere with military specialist; but she was going to tell him off. She didn’t think about why she wanted to look her best doing it or even why she was going to the station at all.

* * *

Sousuke watched the raven haired beauty walk into the station and smiled when he saw what she was wearing. He had known she wouldn’t wear what he demanded; and since he knew what was in her closet he even figured she would wear a dress. All the better for his plans for later that day. When she spotted him she stomped towards him. He could see she was angry, or at least thought she should be angry.

Sousuke forced himself to keep calm. His decision to fuck the girl to get her out of his system had apparently backfired; now he wanted more of her. He hadn’t had this problem with the other women he’d been with. Kaname was definitely different. He wasn’t sure how he could be sure she understood how much he cared for her; he wasn’t used to working with civilians and adding sex to the mix certainly complicated the matter.  

His charge reached him and opened her mouth to take in a deep breath. Before she could say a word, he pulled her into his chest and closed his mouth over hers. She tensed for a deep kiss, ready to pull away; but instead his lips were soft against hers. Almost like a sigh. There was a promise in the kiss; a promise of more but the kiss was slow and gentle and nothing like it had been over the weekend. This past weekend had been about possession and command; control.

Kaname melted into the kiss, into his chest; trying to get more from him. A full five minutes passed before she remembered where they were and that she was supposed to be angry with him; by then he had stopped kissing her and was simply smiling at her. She had never seen him smile; and the sight blew away the lines of anger that had formed in her mind.

“I like this dress, Kaname” he said when he saw her eyes were once more focused and she was aware of her surroundings. She blushed and mumbled a thank you. “Shall we go shopping, now?” he asked her.

“You ordered me to skip school so we could go shopping, why are you asking me now?” she demanded in confusion.

“I want to be sure you are ready, I will happily kiss you more if you prefer,” he replied with his normal logical tone. “Of course, we may have to find a private place to continue,” he finished. Her eyes widened in shock when she realized what he meant.

“No!” she squealed before clearing her throat and looking around in embarrassment. “Um, no. We can head out to go shopping now,” she replied. His smile got wider, and there was an arrogance to it that should have angered her; but for some reason Kaname couldn’t summon an ounce of annoyance, much less true anger, for the military specialist who was holding her hand as if he _wanted_ the world to know they were together.

She was silent for the first hour of the train ride into Kyoto. Sousuke kept her right hand in his left, running his thumb along hers. He kept his silence, and didn’t fidget. Kaname had matched his stillness at first; but then she realized she wanted to know what was happening between them. She knew what she _wanted_ to happen between them; but was it what he wanted?

“Are you alright Kaname?” Sousuke asked her quietly when she had shifted in her seat for the third time.

“Sousuke; why did you … umm …” she swallowed and looked around to be sure no one was close to them. “Why did you really do what you did this weekend?” she asked in a rushed whisper.

“Why did I do what, Kaname?” he asked her. She blushed and slapped his arm, bringing another smile to his lips. She was briefly fascinated by that stretch of his lips.

“You _know_ what I am asking, please don’t make me say it out loud,” she said, a silent plea in her brown eyes. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her nose before smiling at her again. Kaname was astounded. Three smiles in one day; his face would crack.

“I told you; I have wanted to have sex with you since I first saw you; your actions since you learned I was your personal bodyguard have expressed that you wished to have sex with me as well,” here he frowned; true concern coloring his voice. “Was I wrong?” he asked. She swallowed and shook her head in the negative.

“N-no. Well,” she swallowed again. “I am not sure if I expected us to go straight into a sexual relationship,” she whispered; keeping her voice low so no one could overhear her.

“You wanted something else?” he asked in confusion. “I am sorry, Kaname; I am unsure of what you mean.”

“Sousuke, I guess I hoped you would decide to ask me on a date first. _Several_ dates, before we did any of that,” she tried to explain through her chagrin. He nodded then, understanding dawning.

“Ah. I would suggest you look upon today’s excursion as a date, then,” he answered. She frowned at him.,

“You’re taking me to get new school uniforms, which, by the way, I do not need,” she said, with a small amount of heat. He grinned at her; happy that she hadn’t lost her spunk. It was one of the reasons he was so attracted to her; that bravado.

“Yours are too small,” he said, again so very matter-of-factly it started her steaming.

“No, they are-” Sousuke once again began kissing her, this one was a little harder, although not by much. It wasn’t demanding, simply commanding. It stole her breath with it’s suddenness as well as turning the slow burn of desire in her belly up a few degrees.

“If they fit you, Whispered-mine; I would not be able to see your nipples even when you weren’t busy showing me your cleavage,” there was a possessive growl in his voice that kept her from arguing for a brief moment.

“Um, Sousuke, most of the girls wear their clothes one size too small,” she tried to tell him; a if that should make it better for her. His narrowed eyes and shaking head made it clear it wasn’t an excuse that was going to fly with her erstwhile lover.

“Your body is mine to enjoy; to peruse, Kaname-chan,” again, the growl was deep and possessive and it caused her to shiver with delight. “I understand civilian clothing being somewhat provocative,” he nodded towards her sundress as he said this. “However, at school I must insist you wear a proper uniform.”

Kaname swallowed her next argument, this was not a battle she was going to win.

“If I told you that I have uniforms that fit me as they should, would that placate you?” she asked instead. He let go of her hand to brush her hair off her neck so he could lean in and whisper in her ear.

“We will check when we get back to your home tonight, if they fit as they should, then yes,” His breath on her ear and neck made her shiver again; when he softly kissed the spot behind her ear she moaned.

“So you’re still going to buy me uniforms?” she asked breathlessly.

“I’ll buy you two,” he compromised; knowing she wouldn’t have offered the clothing if she didn’t have it. “It will just give us more time for the other plans I made for today,” he said as he took her hand.

For the next half hour Kaname concentrated on keeping her hands in her lap and not her bottom in her seat. There had been a wealth of promise in that statement. 


	3. Ichigo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Strawberty (Ichigo) shortcake.

** Kyoto Shopping district. **

True to his word, Sousuke had bought her only two new school uniforms. He had also insisted she buy five pairs of plain white panties; although he did allow her to have high cut on the leg. When he then brought her over five plain white bras she started to shout and he leaned in and placed a very soft kiss on her lips. She was so startled by this reaction she leaned into him.

“I know you like to match,” he whispered in her ear before pulling away. She blushed and looked down in embarrassment. Sousuke put two fingers under her chin and lifted her face.

“Don’t hide, Kaname. You are too beautiful to do so.” It was the first real compliment he had ever given her. Her eyes widened with pleasure and then her lips stretched into a pleased smile. She hugged him tightly around his chest.

“Thank you, Sousuke,” she whispered so only he could hear. She was so sincere in her thanks Sousuke began to wonder how often anyone in her family had really complimented her.

“You’re welcome, Kaname.”

* * *

 

After the clothes buying he had taken her to an outdoor bistro that served American cuisine. They enjoyed american style spaghetti with garlic bread and tea for their lunch. When the dessert tray was brought, Kaname almost fainted from delight. The restaurant had her favorite dessert.

Sousuke was surprised when she asked for that; it was such a simple dessert. There wasn’t really much to it, it wasn’t even that sweet; yet the look on her face when she took the first bite hit him in the gut with a sucker punch of desire.

He watched her wrap her pink lips around the white cream covered red strawberry and swallowed hard; when she moaned in pleasure he had to grip the table to stop himself from dragging her to the floor. Who would have thought watching his lover eat strawberry shortcake would be that erotic.

Sousuke kept silent, taking pleasure from watching and listening to her as she made small talk while she ate her dessert. He wasn’t sure he could speak even if she had expected an answer. He quickly revised his plans for the day; he wasn’t going to be able to wait to have her again.

“I need to use the restroom,” she said as she got up. He nodded and watched her as she made  her way to the ladies room. When she was safely inside he pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed a number and made a quiet request; this was her favorite dessert and he would see she had it again that night.

Well, he would try it.

Kaname had exited the restroom and watched him putting away his cellphone. She saw him grin as he did so; and swallowed nervously. He had that look before the trip to the spa; and pretty much every time he looked at her the whole weekend.

Kaname wanted to run; but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to run away from him or not. She wasn’t used to this feeling, this need. Need him she did; he made her feel safe and at risk; staid and wild, and sane and crazy all at once. She wanted him to stop kissing her as if she were made of glass, which also melted her knees.

Then she wanted him to kiss her like that always; it made her feel precious, cherished. He looked up at her, his brown eyes were now a dark chocolate as he devoured her body with his eyes and she felt her body respond with a flood of wetness between her legs. He dropped a wad of bills onto the table and held out his hand to her; that smile still in place.

* * *

The cab ride to the resort was quiet and strained, but only because the teenagers were being sure to keep their hands off one another; not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves.

The resort was much nicer than Kaname had ever been to before. The foyer was full of marble and glass in an Egyptian motif. She could smell a hint of vanilla and cinnamon on the air. As they reached the center of the foyer; a young Japanese woman wearing a flowing white dress with a very deep tan stepped up and spoke to Sousuke.

“Sergeant Sagara, it is so nice to see you again. We have  your suite prepared, your luggage has already been delivered and unpacked,” she held out a small leather case that looked like it would hold only credit cards.

“Your card-keys, Sir, as well as the receipts for the things you asked for. I look forward to being in your service today,” She smiled warmly at the young man, seemingly ignoring the pretty young lady in the blue sundress next to him with her pale hand holding onto the crook of his elbow. Kaname could see the girls brown eyes were making an attempt to catch Sousuke’s own; although he seemed oblivious to it.

Kaname; who did had not shrunk when they came into the resort, slid forward a slight bit to be in Sousuke’s peripheral vision. She smiled seductively at him when his head immediately turned and he focused on her.

“You promised me a swim,” she said quietly; and although he knew he had not he responded as if he had.

“I also promised you a new bathing suit,” he said with a wicked grin. She smiled even more seductively up at him, letting her eyes go as starry as she wanted.

“I’d rather just spend more time with you,” she replied honestly. He raised her right hand to his lips and brushed his lips across her knuckles.

“As you desire,” he answered her; his voice deep with that exact emotion. Kaname’s breath caught in her throat, she was enraptured by the sound. When the concierge cleared her throat in embarrassment, the two looked at her in brief confusion before Sousuke thanked her led Kaname to the elevators. Kaname saw the woman’s face before the doors closed softly; if looks could kill Kaname would have been bloody on the floor of the pink marble foyer. Kaname didn’t even smirk, she simply leaned her head against Sousuke’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

* * *

 

Sousuke inserted one of the cards into a slot on the panel and touched the thirty-two when the light turned green.

“Why did you say that?” he asked, truly curious.

“Hmm? Oh, that woman was making eyes at you,” she said. She didn’t realize how possessive she sounded when she continued. “I wanted her to know you were taken.” Sousuke, having never had anyone actually want more than sex, was taken aback.

“Why?” he asked her. She lifted her head as the doors to the elevator opened into a suite. That could have passed for a temple in Egypt if it hadn’t been for the modern furniture. She answered him almost absently as she took in her surroundings.

“Because you are mine, Sousuke Sagara, I won’t share.”

Her statement left him breathless for a moment, then his hunger for her returned and he dropped the keys on the table by the elevator. Taking two long strides he swept her up in his arms, holding her behind her back and knees before twisting and taking her into the bedroom.

He could feel the heat of her skin, smell the sun on her skin and wanted to taste her all over again. He stood her on her feet, and with hands that shook with the force of his need he held her face in his hands to kiss her. He heard her growl, felt her trying to deepen the kiss when he kept it soft; he broke the kiss, his breathing heavy.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said to her. She reached up to her shoulders and slid the straps of her dress off them, as it fell to the floor she stepped forward into his body.

“I won’t break,” she answered huskily as she then wrapped her bare arms around his neck and pressed her body against his.

The touch of her; the heat of her, the scent of her arousal sent him over the edge. She never heard the knife being drawn, and the touch of metal against her back was a flash of cold before her bra was loose. He had captured her mouth in a hard, deep, possessive kiss before she noticed. When he sliced the band of her thong off, allowing her panties to drop to the floor with her dress she tried to protest, only to have his tongue tangle with hers.

Sousuke lifted his Whispered lover by her waist and she wrapped her long lithe legs around his lean waist and moaned into his mouth when she felt his hardness pressed against her pussy.

He took two very long steps to the bed, lay her on her back on the edge, pulling her legs apart enough for him to get his hand between them to unbutton his fly.

“Sousuke,” she groaned as his knuckles brushed against her swollen lips. When he freed himself from the confines of his pants she gasped in shock as he slid the head of his dick down her slit to thrust deeply into her. She said his name again, a little more loudly with the next thrust.

Sousuke closed his eyes as he fucked her, he wrapped his arms under her ass and her back, lifting her higher for his access.

He didn’t  hear his own animalistic grunting as he thrust into her; but he did hear her building scream. His first thought was to kiss her into silence; to swallow the sound of her pleasure. Then he realized he liked hearing it; especially when he recognized his name, her repeating his name with each breath as she screamed her oragsm.

When her body relaxed, her legs unlocking from his spine he stepped back and quickly undressed. She opened her brown eyes as he did so, watching him move with efficiency. His body had always been attractive, but knowing it better now, she sighed and shifted to a sitting position.

“Lie back down,” he ordered, she shook her head. “Kaname,” he growled.

“You gave me pleasure all weekend,” she said as she reached for his dick with her hand, wrapping her long fingers around the steel length. “Let me pleasure you,” she asked. He closed his eyes as she stroked him, his hips thrusting into her fingers. When her lips closed around the head of his dick he growled and pulled away from her, shoving back onto the bed.

“Not yet,” he panted in her mouth as he once more thrust into her.

“Sousuke!” she shouted as his entrance triggered another orgasm.

Sousuke rode her through the orgasm, before shifting to his knees and lifting her left leg up, hooking her knee over his right elbow. He used his left hand to grasp her right breast and roll the nipple between his fingers. She locked her left leg behind his right knee and pulled herself into him and up with each of his down-thrusts. She wrapped both hands around his left arm and dug in with her nails.

“Open your eyes, Kana,” he grunted when she closed them. Her light brown eyes met his chocolate brown; she was held by them, mesmerized by the heat in them. Their breathing synced, each of stroke of his hips met by the pump of her own. Her mouth was open, mewling sounds escaping her throat as they moved together.

“Sousuke, please!” she begged, her body hovering on the edge of coming apart. He grunted and shifted his weight, changing the angle of his thrust. She could feel the head of his dick slamming into her pleasure center as he began lifting her higher for each thrust into her. “Oh God!” she moaned, tears beginning to fall from the corner of her eyes.

“Let go, Kana,” he commanded of her, sliding his hand from her breast to her pussy. He pinched her clit gently and rhythmically between his thumb and forefinger; in time to his thrusts. She threw her head back, her eyes closing as she screamed his name again. A long, loud, ululating sound that echoed throughout the room. Her pussy convulsed with her orgasm and he let loose his control enough to growl from his core as he came, emptying his seed into her.

He collapsed on the bed next to her, pulling her into his side as he did. Their breathing was heavy and both were covered in sweat when suddenly Kaname began to giggle. He frowned in consternation.

“What is funny, Kaname?” he asked her.

“You called me Kana,” she said, giggling even more.

“I did?”

“Yes, Sousuke, you did,” she leaned up on her elbow and looked him in the eyes. Sousuke saw joy in the brown orbs; an emotion he had not seen in them before.

“Should I not?” he asked her softly. She shook her head and laughed. The sound stirred something inside the military raised boy.

“I liked it,” she answered, leaning in to place a soft kiss on the side of his mouth.

“Good, then.” She laughed again and the Mythril agent thought to himself he wanted to hear that more often; he wanted to see the joy in her eyes more. Whatever it took to keep her from being as sad as she had been.

“Kana,” he said, tasting the word consciously.

“Yes, Sousuke,” she whispered, looking into his eyes.

“I think we should go for that swim,” he said with a mischievous grin. She frowned at him,

“I didn’t bring a suit, and we didn’t buy one,” she said with disappointment. His smile got wider and he rolled over so he was on top of her on the bed, holding himself up by his arms and his legs on either side of hers. He did a pushup and kissed her as he dipped before rolling completely off the bed.

“Come see, Kana,” he said; Kaname was amazed to hear teasing in his voice. He was showing emotion….Kaname was so amazed to hear it she almost missed where he went.

The raven haired girl lept from the bed to follow her lover into the room that was to the right of the bedroom. It was a dressing room; a room larger than her entire apartment. Fully half the room was full of clothing that she just knew was for her.

“So-Sousuke, what is all this?” she asked in awe.

“You know I am your bodyguard,” he said and she nodded.

“Webber and Mao are part of the team, all three of us are guarding you,” he said. She frowned for a second.

“Yes, I know that,” she said.

“There are camera’s in almost every part of your house, and there are recorders in every part of your house except your bathroom,” he said. Her eyes widened, and her face turned red as she started to get angry. Sousuke, pulled her close to him and put his finger on her mouth.

“I can’t live with you, can I?” he asked her. The question was so logical it gave her pause. Part of her wanted to shout yes, live with me. Do these things to me every night; but she knew that was impractical and would actually cause problems neither of them needed.

“No,” she agreed with regret. He heard the regret and almost offered to change their living arrangement to make it happen, to give her what she wanted. Almost; yet he knew he couldn’t let her know she had that kind of power over him.

“I will want to spend as much time with you as I can when I am not on another assignment and we do not have to be in school,” he kissed her very softly on the mouth and turned her to face the clothes hanging from the railing. “I like fucking you, Kana. I like hearing you moan my name. Here I can give you that pleasure and you don’t have to be quiet; no one will hear you that can harm you with it” he said in her ear.

“So why do I need all these clothes then?” She asked him on a shaky breath.

“Because I am not ashamed of you, Kana. You are mine and I will show everyone that,” He dropped a kiss on her bare right shoulder.

“Just not at school,” she said with some heat.

“Kaname,” he turned her to face him. “I don’t want anyone at school to know we are having sex,” he looked her in the eyes. “I plan on everyone knowing you are mine,” he said.

“Am I?” she asked him somewhat dubiously. The doubt in her voice angered him.

“Kana,” he said after a moment of reigning his temper. “Chan,” he added as an afterthought. His voice was deep, it rumbled through her body with the intensity of an oncoming storm. “You are mine.”

Kaname shivered at the raw possessiveness of the statement, and she wondered at herself for not being afraid of what that meant. She watched as he visibly regained control of himself.

“You and I will need time together; time that is for us,” he claimed her mouth in a kiss once more so full of hunger it stole her breath and stirred her own desire.

“I still don’t get it,” she whispered against his lips.

“This is where we will come, and you will never need to pack a bag,” he said before kissing her once again.

Sousuke walked her backward back into the bedroom; then against the wall next to the dressing room. He lifted her by her hips, her legs automatically wrapping around his own hips.

He thrust into her and they both sighed with the pleasure of it.

Sousuke kept the pace even until she was panting and begging; digging her nails into his shoulders and pulling him closer with her legs.

“Say it, Kana,” he said against her throat, holding the head of his dick just inside her pussy.

“S-S-Sousuke,” she moaned trying to force him deeper inside her.

“Say it,” he demanded, licking the sweat that rolled down the hollow of her neck.

“Please,” she begged.

“Tell me who you belong to,” he growled, the sound rumbling through her tensed body.

“You, Sousuke, I belong to you,” she cried out. Sousuke slammed fully into her; giving her the release she was begging for and taking his own pleasure at the same time.

* * *

 

Midnight came and went; the young lovers had enjoyed dinner in their suite; Kaname gaining a brand new appreciation for strawberry shortcake. She wasn’t sure what to make of what was happening. He treated her as if she were the most precious thing in his world. The most important person in the whole world; yet his words for what they were doing were crass and dismissing of the feelings he showed and evoked within her.

They were leaving the resort several hours before dawn to catch the first train back to Jendai. He made sure she had one of the card-keys in her purse. He smiled in such a way she wondered what he was planning next.

“If I’m always going to be here with you, Sousuke, why do I need a key?” she asked him.

“I want you to be able to come here if you need to be safe,” he said. She wasn’t sure what that meant, but let it go. He was always trying to think three steps ahead of whatever danger might present itself.

* * *

 

**Thursday, Homeroom**

**One month later**

Kaname huffed as she sat down in her desk in front of her erstwhile boyfriend. He had set up a tripwire in front of the school lockers in an effort to catch the boy who had been putting love notes in her locker. Inevitably it had blown up the locker area.

Thankfully no one was hurt; although poor Higashi-san was probably never going to be the same. Kaname had, of course, let Sousuke know that his trap had been a complete over reaction to the situation; his only response had been to growl ichigo in her ear.

No one knew why she had turned so red, or why she had stopped yelling at him. Kaname wasn’t sure how she was supposed to deal with a boyfriend who refused to understand that it was okay for other boys to think she was cute. She wasn’t interested in Higashi-san, or any other boy for that matter; yet he would find ways to humiliate any boy who showed an interest in her beyond friendship.

She hadn’t realized she’s yelled out until she felt his hand on her shoulder, rubbing gently. While she wanted to shrug it off, she did actually begin to calm down, He who could make her so crazy was also the one who could make it all okay. She didn’t know what this feeling was, but it was far too frightening and out of control. She used to be in control; until he came along.

Homeroom ended and the class split up to go their separate ways. Sousuke walked her to their first class, which was history. She lost herself in the lesson, allowing herself to forget her boyfriend’s antics; if only for a time. They made it through their Japanese and English classes before splitting up for the next class before lunch. She went to Math and he to science.

Halfway through the class one of the teacher’s aide’s came in with a note. He gave it to Kaname. She saw the Principal wished to speak with her and she excused herself.

She walked down the silent corridors deep in thought. Her mind not really on her surroundings. She needed to figure out what exactly she was feeling for Sergeant Sousuke Sagara. They had spent the last two weekends in Kyoto; enjoying each other’s bodies as well as each other’s company. She was learning so much about him and she had a feeling he was learning just as much about himself.

Kaname turned the corner to get to the school office when she felt someone behind her. Before she could act; there was a sharp pain in her neck and the world went fuzzy.


	4. Taken from Sousuke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The young man who doesn't understand emotions loses the most important thing in his world.

**Thursday**

_**One hour later** _

Kurz Weber managed to leave the grocery store without getting any of the things he had wanted to get; actually only getting what Melissa had told him to. Which basically meant beer.

The blond German bowed to the woman who had checked him out as he left and let his eyes roam the street; looking for danger and snipers. Mao might think he wasn’t really that professional but he did know his job and he owed her more than she would ever know.

Weber saw a young raven haired beauty that looked like Kaname and looked again. It _was_ Kaname; being held by some American in a cheap business suit. She was hanging all over him like they were dating, or more.

The sniper started to call out when he noticed three other Americans. Looking around more he could now spot at least fifteen total; and that’s just what he could see. He was good but he wasn’t that good. If Mao or Sagara were here there’d be no problem, but fifteen was too many for him by himself given that he was only lightly armed.

“Mao,” Webber spoke into his comm. He only got static. Great, two minutes ago she wouldn’t shut up in his ear about her damned beer, now she wasn’t at the comm. As he tried to decide how to proceed he noticed another group of Americans in the same type of cheap suit following the first group. Upon seeing this, he immediately attempted to contact Mao on one of the several other frequencies. No luck. He only then noticed that a nearby shopkeeper manning a stand was angry at his radio for not tuning in to his favorite radio show.

“Damn!” he exclaimed under his breath. He couldn’t follow the one’s who had her without the others spotting him. He quickly went back inside the store and paid to have the beer delivered to the safe house. He tried, and failed, once again to get Melissa on the comm. He even went so far as to attempt calling on a landline and a borrowed cellphone. All avenues of communication were cut off. He debated momentarily on what action he needed to take next. Standard operating procedure, dictated that he needed to follow as close as he could without being caught and report as soon a communications became available again. But this was Kaname. Sousuke was extremely close to her and if he did not alert him immediately . . . . . He shivered, knowing he was too professional to not follow procedure in this instance.

Weber decided he’d have to figure out how to follow the second group. He figured they would all be heading in the same direction and to the same place. American’s weren’t known for their intelligence when it came to these operations. Though, they did have the budget to buy local clothes in an attempt to blend in. Just who in the fuck were these guys and where did they come from? They moved quickly and unhurriedly through the streets, proving to have good local knowledge. Yet, they were rude to people they passed by to the point anyone attempting to follow would have an easy time picking up the trail. They had money enough to jam the radios of an entire district and yet stupid enough to cut communications on the landlines as well.

That was when it hit him. This op might not be remotely legit. One of the last intel dumps he went over back at base had speculated that some of America’s politicians had bought some black op agencies to do an end run around the government themselves. After all, no one would publicly chastise the people who brought them black technologies that gave them an edge over their fellow world powers. There hadn’t been anything solid, just rumors and speculation.

If they did exist and this was one of them, this could be extremely bad. Part of the rumors was that they treated everyone as expendable. As things to be used and discarded after it has no use anymore. Kurtz’s guts clenched at the idea. Part of the reason he prefered to work for Mithral was the moral code and ideals they upheld. Always trying to keep the collateral damage to a minimum. He hated seeing anyone abuse their power.

He slowed his pace, realizing only then that he had been speeding toward the widespread group. Good thing he did, too. Even more men were seeping in from the public roads. Damn! At least 50 men on one op! There was paranoia and then there was this. The worst of it was, they were nearing a marina. It was suspiciously close to an island that housed a small private airport as well. These jerks covered their bases despite how stupid their orders might be.

He tried his radio and even the payphone nearby. Still down. At this point, he needed backup. There was no way he would be able to follow further. If he tried to even get close enough to see which boat they put her on, he would probably end up dead. No choice then. At a souvenir shop, he bought a prepaid cell and started running. He would alternate between the cell and his radio till he reached someone. Things had just blown up in a very big way.

* * *

Sousuke waited expectantly in the quad for Kaname. It gave her obvious pleasure to share her lunch with him. He never admitted it, but he enjoyed that she was making lunch just for him as well. Something warm was kindling in his guts when he spent time with her. Something that never went away entirely. He glanced at his watch. She was running a little late. Probably just congestion in the halls. Mao came on to the radio through the earpiece that they used for routine comms. Damn, not now.

“Sgt. Sagara, head back to base! Immediately!” He was confused.

“Who will cover for us while we are on mission?”

“That doesn’t matter right now! Get back here asap! That is an order!”

“Understood.”

He simply snatched up his bag and sprinted off of the school grounds. Mao would not simply order him home without reason. Something important has come up. Internally he growled at the mission that was bound to prevent him from spending time with Kaname. He was starting become upset with anything that prevented him from being with her. That was entirely unlike him. He put his questions aside as he raced up the steps to his apartment base. He locked the door and saluted.

“Sgt. We have a major problem. First, I need to know if you noticed if there was anything different at the school.”

“Not that I am aware of”, he answered with obvious confusion. “No signs of surveillance or outside interference. No bugs or listening devices in my sweep this morning.”

“Damn! I was afraid of that.” She swore, her eyes narrowing as she looked at the Sergeant. He wasn't going to take this well. “Kaname has been taken from the school.” She watched his face go blank. Knowing it was best to treat it like a normal op she forged ahead.

“Someone snuck into the principal’s office and drugged her. In that state, she sent for Ms. Chidori to be sent to the office. Once there, we assume that she was drugged as well. Kurtz caught on to what was going on when he caught sight of her being escorted by Americans. He followed them down to a private marina. The one not far from Kosawa airport.” He was stunned. She had been taken out from underneath his nose. His mind raced. That particular spot would be incredibly hard to track them from. Though, the airport nearby would be a quick way to move with her; he felt that they would probably take a sea route. There were any number islands that had never been recorded in government records. They probably had a base on one. Their actions proved that they at least had a passable knowledge of Mithral.

His training kicked in and imposed discipline over his raging thoughts. He could guess at what they were up to thanks to his years of experience as soldier, but what he really needed was better intel. More information was always better. All of this settled into an icy haze. He would get her back. There was no force on earth that would stop him.

“Sitrep,” he said thirty seconds after receiving the information on Kaname. Mao got him up to speed and keyed into Mithral’s response. He would bide his time, for now.

 

* * *

** Five days later **

The situation room was oddly quiet not even the sounds of shifting or keys clacking. The information before them was grim. An organization that was calling itself America for Americans had taken Kaname Chidori; the second favorite of the Mithral team. Captan Testarossa and her intelligence officers had followed the money trail as far as they could and had still had a hard time trying to find anything about the group, including the name. Until out of the blue they had been contacted by the leaders of the mercenarie group two days after the incident. They claimed to have the full authority of the US to act and promptly threatened to annihilate them if they attempted to get Ms. Chidori back. Once they gave their name and threat, the intel came pouring in.

As suspected by the intel officers previously; as well as by multiple other intelligence agencies, several politicians in the American government had used their considerable fortunes to buy what amounted to a small army of failed black ops soldiers and equipment. The mercs were all professionals; if not quite above board, but their bosses were merely spoiled politicians that wanted everything their way. That meant they were doing professional level service with idiots ordering them around. The US had disavowed them and were looking to press charges for treason in several instances. The Senators had, of course, left the country. Most of the groups they had bought had been cut off for dishonorable conduct or mental issues. Meaning they wouldn't always follow orders.

Mithral suspected that they were holed up on an uncharted island. The problem was going to be the extraction of their Whispered charge. No world government was willing to go in and possibly piss off the US on the off chance the idiot group found something and there was a change of heart. On the other hand, Mithral had the advantage of being a neutral anti-terrorist group with members from all over the world.

Mithral going in was going to be tantamount to starting a small war. The mercenaries might have been working for idiots, but those idiots had deep pockets. The money trail they left behind told the story; dozens of mostly up-to-date tanks and Arm Slaves on the island. M8’s with unknown modifications most likely. Though some Savage models were also present. The task of taking Kaname back was looking more and more bleak because they were going to need to take out the main force to reach her.

Sousuke maintained an icy calm that hid the fiery storm of anger and frustration throughout the five days of intelligence gathering. He blamed himself for having let them take his lover in the first place. He wanted a target. Something he could unleash hell upon.

He had been running Al, his M9 Arbalest’s AI, through yet another series of simulations to tune the target acquisition systems and fine tune the mech when they were called to the situation room. They had found the island and the plan was simple. The whole of Mithral would attack with the sole intent of destroying the enemy. This would be a distraction for Urzu 6, 7, and 8 to use and get into what had to be an underground facility and rescue Ms. Chidori. As they had found the island, the US hired them to wipe out the America for Americans. The US government made no bones about how the young girl they had kidnapped was expendable as long as they were all caught or killed. The feeling amongst the Mithral team was if they had thought they could get the Whispered girl away without Mithral’s help they would have done so.

Kurtz pulled Sousuke aside as they headed to the hangar.

“Hey, you gonna be okay heading into this? This is going to be one of the most aggressive missions we have had in a long time and Kaname is caught in the middle.” Puzzled the younger man answered as stoically as usual.

“Affirmative. Despite my stress over the situation, I have maintained an optimum state of readiness. They won’t know what hit them.”

“That’s good. I would have thought that you would have lost sleep over her being in trouble and in a situation that might get her killed. Again. Kind of amazing how she seems to attract trouble”, he replied with a pat on the arm as they continued on.

In the cockpit of the Arbalest, he did all his last minute checks. Everything was going to be optimum. At least till Murphy’s Law kicked in as it always did in the middle of battle. One could only prepare so much.

“Sgt. Sagara”, asked Al “are we going to go out on a mission soon?”

“Yes, Al.”

“Is this a rescue attempt for Ms. Chidori?”

“Yes, Al, it is. Thank you for downloading the mission briefing and intel.”

“You are mating with her. Is that the reason for the excessive maintenance and simulations?”

“It is not excessive, Al. I am just attempting to predict all variables. Improving efficiency.”

“Yet, on all of the other missions we have gone on, you have never once prepared in such a manner.”

“Just make sure we have power when we need it and keep us moving. I will make sure that the mission is a success.”

“Yes, sir.”

Sousuke pondered Al’s questions. Upon thinking about it, he was being strange. He only did the extra things to get her back, safe and sound. That is when it hit him. His focus was on getting her back, even before getting the mission to do so. He dismissed the thought as unimportant. Whatever he was feeling before the mission was background noise now. He needed to get his head focused on things at hand if he wanted to survive. And rescue his Kana.

* * *

The island was on high alert. They had taken a high value target from under the noses of Mithral. Their superiors claimed that they had gotten away cleanl; but in hours, they were proven wrong. Mithral was looking for them. Hard. They had covered most of their tracks well. Nothing would lead back to them anytime soon. Then the money got pissed and challenged them.

For the last two days they had been on alert. The only knowledge they solidly had about the enemy organization was that they were international, highly skilled, and extremely well armed. Oh, and they wanted their little girl back. Every little blip on anyone’s sensors or radar was analysed. Which is why they never saw the sea attack coming.

Optically camouflaged AS units swept in from the sea like ghosts. The tanks and Savages never stood a chance. The moment they were down, Mithral’s M9’s started dropping from the sky in small groups, firing as they moved. The infiltration team stayed hidden and called in positions for sea batteries to fire upon.

The fighting was brutal. Mithral may have had the advantage of technology and surprise, but the AfA had a small island and the numbers to hold it. The island’s surface was a sea of clashing steel, gunfire and small explosions. Urz

Urzu 6,7, and 8 came into the fray under optical camo; they had the location of the entrance into the underground base and were going to make a beeline to their target.

“Whew! What a reception”, cried Kurtz. “You guys get the feeling that they don’t like us?”

“Cut the chatter, Weber! Remember, don’t get too involved with the fighting! In and out, people”, answered Mao.

Sousuke said nothing. Instead, focusing on the battlefield before them. So far, nothing seemed to be near the LZ that could hinder their progress. It would not stay that way for long. The reports flooding into their battle network let them know they were gaining ground. Slowly.

As quietly as AS units could, they landed and worked their way to the entrance. From the look of it, it was probably a favorite spot for maintenance workers to get a quick smoke break. No problems occured getting from their mechs to the door, either. As Kurtz went to pick it, he was nearly struck by the opening door. Before anyone could react, Sousuke smashed the man’s head with the butt of his rifle and tracked the body’s fall to the ground.

“Damn”, Kurtz whispered. “That was almost a moment out of an anime for a moment. Nice work, Sousuke.”

His reply was merely a grunt as he and Mao lead the way inside. They all noticed the hallway was so new, it practically shined. The air had the faint odor of paint and grease. They worked their way through the halls systematically. No sign of life, except for faint explosions shaking the halls and the far off sound of people yelling.

It came as a surprise when they ran across a man in pajamas, then. His mouth was covered as they shoved the sleepy man back into what could only be his room.

Weber stood by the door, keeping it cracked while he stood guard. Mao and Sousuke quickly bound the merc to a chair in the room. Mao sat on his lap, her legs straddling his. His eyes were popping out of his head in shock.

“You must be an officer,” Mao said pleasantly, with her hands on his shoulders. He was looking around the room; eyeing the very somber young man and the blond man with wariness. He clearly didn't think the woman on his lap was a threat. ' _more fool he_ ' thought Weber as he watched the hallway.

The merc grunted his answer at the woman.

“Good, I hate wasting time with subordinates,” Mao said; again quite pleasantly. She gave the degenerate a seductive smile, he started to ignore the men in the room. “Now, where exactly is the Whispered?” she asked him. He smirked, they wanted the girl?

“Good luck getting her away from them,” he said with false cheer. “They only let us watch, they wouldn't let any of us have a taste,” Mao's eyes became amber chips, Weber shut and locked the door and Sousuke drew a knife.

“Now, you really want to tell me where she is; Sir. Otherwise I'll have to let the boys play. Wouldn't you rather play with me?” she said, not so pleasantly now. He simply smiled at her.

“Darlin', I don't want to piss off those guys a whole hell of a lot more than I want to play with you. 'Sides; you don't want her back after what they did-the way she screamed? Heh, she loved it.”

Neither Weber nor Mao saw Sousuke move; but the result was clear. The mercenary quickly told them where the Whispered girl was and how to get there.

“I ain't got clearance past that last red door, I don't know anything past that!” he swore to the black haired boy. Sousuke didn't answer he simply put duct tape over the bastards mouth and left him; bleeding, on the floor.

Neither Mao nor Weber said anything to the young man, although they were shocked by his actions. He waited for his team at the door, as implacable as ever.

“He was lying,” Mao said quietly to the younger man. Sousuke turned fathomless black eyes to her.

“He had better have been.” 


	5. Our Important Person

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sergeant Sagara shows the Senator no one touches his Kaname

 The small squad slid through the halls of the underground base steadily. Having gotten the directions to Kaname’s location from the officer they interrogated earlier. They lead with silenced pistols, attempting to prevent anyone inside noticing their presence. Everyone in the base seemed to be scrambling to defend the base and man stations. There were no problems till they reached the elevator leading to the lower, tighter security levels. Two men stood guard, alert and fingers on the triggers on their submachine guns. Sousuke flashes hand signals to his allies. They nod, wait 5 seconds, and explode into action.

Kurtz slides low, firing upward. Mao slides across the hall firing. Sousuke sticks close to the wall and shoots two rounds at each guard. They fall to the ground, breaking the silence as their dying fingers twitch on the trigger. The concrete absorbs the round’s force so none of the team are injured. Kurtz pulls of the access panel on the elevator and re-wired the elevator to override the security. ‘

“Who da man who can hot-wire an elevator? Me, Kurz Weber!” he laughingly gloated as the box began to descend quickly.

Neither Mao nor Sagara responded, they were busy checking their weapons. Weber also checked his; all were counting rounds fired.

The elevator slowed and the three moved for cover as the doors opened silently; there was no sound on the other side. Even the sounds of the battle raging above ground were gone. Weber quickly and carefully poked his head around the open door, holding up two fingers and pointing both left and right then showing the back of his hand to his team mates. They nodded in understanding and both quickly moved forward with knives drawn.

Keeping silent and low Mao and Sagara took out the security that had been facing the wrong way. They moved the bodies out of sight and quickly searched pockets. They each found a silenced Glock ten millimeter pistol with two spare magazines. Weber took point this time and headed towards the back where the guards had been facing.

Urzu team moved through the halls stealthily; killing those who they crossed paths with, removing weapons as they found them. They would leave no enemy behind them more ammunition to use against them. After twenty minutes that had seemed an eternity the three found the room that contained the ominous red door. Inside were five men and three women. Two of the men were in suits while the rest were in lab coats. They could hear an argument, although the words were muffled.

Mao took point from Weber, the American woman being better at picking locks than the German man. Sagara kept watch from the corner behind them, where he could see what was going on inside the room but wouldn’t be seen himself.

“I don’t care!” Weber and Mao heard one of the men saying.

“We don’t know what it will do to the information in her head!” One of the women said, they saw her move to block the man from the red door. “If you hurt her it could-aah!” The man had back-handed the woman, knocking her down and away from the door.

“I am tired of waiting for my reward! I am an American Senator, damn your hide! I want the girl and I’m a going to take the girl!” His fake tanned face was florid and he was sweating profusely. He was gasping for air as if he were a much bigger man; although he didn’t weigh much more than the scientist he had just knocked down. The other man laughed roughly as he adjusted himself in his trousers.

“Now, now Philip, no need to rough up the scientist; she’s just looking out for her test subject,” This man’s Bostonian accent clashed against the other's Southern tones.

“You going to tell me I can’t have her first, now?” Philip turned to the other man and sneered.

“Well, I prefer my pussy be a little older, a little more experienced, but to each his own,” was the salacious response. Weber noticed the scientists seemed to deflate when it became clear they weren’t going to be able to stop the man.

Phillip left out of a door on the opposite side of the room. Mao signaled for the rest of the team to enter with Sagara on point. On a finger count of three, they burst into the room. All of the men reached for weapons under their coats. Sagara calmly starts shooting as the team fans out into the room. Mao backs him up picking off anyone he doesn’t focus on or seems to still be moving. Weber brings the women to the ground, binding their hands behind their backs with zip ties. In seconds the room is quiet except for one sobbing woman.

“Look, I’ll answer any question you want, just don’t let that monster hurt the girl!” she began saying before they could even speak. “My key card is in the back right hand pocket!”

“All he’s talked about since he got here is fucking the poor thing; he doesn’t even know where she’s at!” With this the woman began sobbing harder. Mao gagged both women before the three of them opened up the red door.

A t-bone intersection was on the other side; and they could hear computers running as well as dozens of other machinery.

“Weber, you head right, Sagara, take the center; I’ll take left. We meet back here in fifteen, with Kaname,” she ordered. Had she seen that Sagara’s brown eyes were now black with anger she wouldn’t have let him go alone.

The three split up, the two junior officers not knowing that Mao had other instructions as well.

Weber actually managed to find several small laboratories and quickly took a chance on hacking in. He found himself in luck when one of the computers had been left unlocked. He radioed the Tuatha and dropped in a flash drive to download the computer’s files. He nodded when he saw that one of the teams hackers had used the connection to get into the system.

Mao lucked out when she found the team that had been researching the drug they had given to Chidori. Finding Amalgam’s fingerprints all over the information make her blood boil; but she was also confused because she knew Amalgam wouldn’t have botched this op in this way.

She was able to get the information she needed fairly easily, as the scientists were far too frightened to lie or try to hide anything from her. Mao left them alive, if bound and gagged. Ten minutes had elapsed so she made her way back to the rendezvous.

Sagara kept low and quiet as he made his way down the straight hallway of the T; he checked all doors he passed, although he only passed a total of three. All three rooms had been empty and he was now coming up on a final door. There was a large window to the left of the door and he could see his Kana inside with two other men. One was the man who had gone through the door first and another man in a white coat. Sousuke had already picked the lock and slid into the room when the Senator once again hit a scientist and knocked him to the floor.

“I paid for the bitch, I’ll fuck the bitch when I want!” he had shouted just as he then turned and yanked Kaname out of the egg shaped machine that was processing her unconscious mind. He ripped the gown off her and actually smacked his lips.

Sousuke’s vision turned into a red haze. Not since his days in Afghanistan had he felt this burning desire to kill someone. His movements were smooth and sure, but unconscious. Three quick steps put him behind the senator. He then stepped to the man’s right, past the tattered gown in that hand. The doomed man’s movements seemed to have slowed down as his eyebrows raised in surprise. The gun’s muzzle jabs into the man’s gut. Two shots. Before the florid Senator has much time to react to the damage, the muzzle is in his face. The next three rounds demolish the face twisting in pain. Sousuke’s free arm snatches Kaname as she starts to fall.

The scientist began to scream in terror as the back of the man’s head exploded out from the force of the nine millimeter rounds forcing their way through his skull. Sousuke pointed the gun at the man.

“Silence,” the young man said softly. The older man snapped his mouth shut and the sound cut off abruptly.

“What have you done to her?” The military boy asked; there was no tone in the boys voice and he didn’t speak loudly. The scientist, knew however, that he had better give the right answer or his death would be painful; and slow.

“Amalgam gave us a drug that would make her compliant; we didn’t hurt her!” the man said, not even attempting to hide the fear he felt.

“Where is Amalgam?” Sagara asked.

“The Senators cut them out of the deal; that’s all I know. We were just trying to get the information out of her head; that’s all! I swear!”

“I believe you,” Sagara said before pulling the trigger and killing the scientist. He then quickly opened up one of the pockets on his pants and pulled out one of her track uniforms. He made a mental note to get her a set of fatigues to keep on his person in case this happened again.

He also made a mental note to teach his Kana basic self defense so this was unlikely to happen again. He was also going to put trackers on her. He pushed those thoughts aside before he got angry again, he needed his control.

After dressing his whispered girl, using the opportunity to check her over to be sure there were no serious physical injuries. He wasn’t sure how to find out if there were other injuries he couldn’t see without causing her more trauma, and he didn’t want to do that.

His timer went off in his ear; marking he had five minutes to get back to the rendezvous. He quickly lifted her over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry to move more quickly. He was grateful she was light; it made it easier to keep his gun hand free as he double timed it back to the red door.

Weber was first to the rendezvous point and quickly made a check inside the room to be sure there were no enemy soldiers waiting. The scientist they had left behind was still lying where they left her, although she was no longer crying.

Mao came up just as Sagara did. Both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw he had his girl across his shoulders.

“She’s not conscious?” Weber asked with concern. Sagara shook his head in the negative.

“She needs to be so we can move,” Mao said, Sagara gave her a blank look for a few seconds before speaking.

“Do you have something that will counteract the drug?” he asked her softly. She sighed and shook her head. “It will take too long for the drug to wear off enough for her to be able to keep up; this will be more efficient,” he said. Neither Mao nor Weber argued with him, he was tensed as if ready to fight anyone who would take her from him.

They checked the entrance room once again, still only the female scientists. Weber hauled up the one who had volunteered information by her elbow, whispering in her ear.

“You’ll live if you do what we say, but only if,” he told her. She nodded after he removed her gag and bindings. Mao nodded and flashed five fingers twice before pointing out the door. The Sergeant and Lieutenant nodded curtly. Mao moved through the door into the main hallway, sweeping for targets as she made her way back to the elevator.

The two men counted to five and then Sagara was out the door, as low and as fast as he could with his burden. He stopped on the other side of Mao and rested Kaname’s weight against the wall. She wasn’t that heavy but all weight eventually multiplied when carried indefinitely. He checked her breathing and her pulse, both were still steady. He breathed deeply as Weber and the woman came up behind Mao.

They all moved at once to the elevator car, Sagara, Kaname and the scientist in between Mao and Weber. Once more Weber triggered the elevator to move, this time up. All three soldiers put the non-combatants behind them as they waited for the door to open. Mao fleetingly wondered why Weber wasn’t making jokes, but then brushed it aside; she was grateful he was focused on the mission.

Weber knelt in front of Kaname; that Sagara had placed her behind his friend spoke volumes about how much the younger man trusted him so he wasn’t going to let him down. No one would touch their Kaname this time; not while he drew breath.

The elevator doors opened and the fighting could be heard once more; although it did sound more sporadic than it had. There were five men wearing Mithril patches facing the elevator, weapons drawn. That winged sword had never looked so good to the three coming off that elevator.

“Check your fire!” They heard another Sergeant Major call when he recognized Urzu squad. Once more Sagara lifted Kaname over his shoulders; making it clear he was keeping her with him.

“This civilian has promised info, Sergeant Major,” Mao told the man as they handed over the blond scientist. “Get her to safety and debrief her.” The other officer nodded and the team split. Five of the ground squad surrounded Urzu squad and the others; that had been hidden, went with their leader.

“We’ll get you to your AS’s,” one of the Lieutenants told them. “We can take Ms Chidori to a safer place from there,” Mao was shaking her head already.

“No, Ms Chidori stays with us; we have our orders, LT,” he frowned but nodded as Mao outranked him. She wouldn’t put their Kaname in danger unless it was crucial.

The fighting right outside the base entrance was where the toughest fight was now. Mithril had managed to get the superior position of the gate, but the defunct mercenary troops were fighting to take it back. They knew if they didn’t win here they were all facing more than just kidnapping charges. None of them had been nice men. Well most mercenaries weren’t; but these soldiers had been particularly nasty.

Mao watched for the best time to move, keeping herself between the fighting and Sagara. They managed to make it halfway to their AS’s when ten men rushed them from the forest behind the machines.

“Down!” Weber shouted at Sagara as he and Mao moved to intercept. The ground team; it transpired, had caught another group attempting to rush them from behind and were engaged with that smaller group.

Weber and Mao moved together like the well trained soldiers they were; a true team they trusted each other with their lives.

Sagara saw that another group were behind the first. That group was smaller but it would unbalance the fight. He quickly hid Kaname from sight and moved into the fray.

Mao and Weber adjusted their tactics to fit the third member of their team into their flow flawlessly. Mao would duck under a strike and land a hard elbow to ribs; sending the attacker into Sagara’s knife or Weber’s pistol whip.

Sagara would land three solid punches into an attacker’s chest before kicking another into Mao’s line of sight; where she would then perform a roundhouse kick that would snap their necks. He would also toss attackers over his shoulder to land where Weber could smash or stab them while they were down.

The ground team had come up to assist in under three minutes; and in that time the Urzu Squad had taken out fifteen enemy soldiers. All five men swore to themselves they were going to become that good.

Sagara moved back and picked up a now groggy and waking up Kaname. She whispered his name; and something inside the toy soldier unknotted.

“I’ve got you Kana,” he whispered back to her. “I’m taking you home,” he said into her hair. This time he carried her in his arms.

“Double time, she’s waking up,” he said harshly. His teammates nodded and the three of them took off for their machines.


	6. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mithril fucked up; and another group has a way to fix it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here is where I and my partner kyoteshaman7667 decided the true changes were going to happen. We both know that the light novels and the manga were going some place we didn't like. It's always been AU but now is when it get's really A/U. I did say that there isn't a lot of KRD in the story and this is really where you see the most. Now kyoteshaman is mainly my fight scene writer just so's ya know. 
> 
> Again, I own nothing of Full Metal Panic

 

**On the Tuatha de Danann**

Captain Testarossa moved through the wide companionway of the stealth submarine towards the Med Bay where her friend Kaname Chidori was being kept while they ran tests to determine if she were going to suffer any type of brain damage from the second dose of Amalgam’s Whispered drug. She saluted the soldiers she passed with a smile to hide her worry; they were all showing enough worry already. They needed her to be strong for them.

Sergeant Sagara and Lieutenant Weber were standing guard outside the door and both saluted her sharply as she approached.

“How is she doing?” she asked the men. She managed to keep her eyes between them; although she really wanted to look at Sergeant Sagara. She got an excuse to when he was the one who answered.

“Ms Chidori is physically fine, Captain. She claims,” he was interrupted by Weber, although he kept speaking as if he hadn’t been.

“Loudly,” Weber muttered with humor.

“That she is fine mentally as well. Sergeant Major Mao is attempting to convince her she needs to let the Doctors run their tests,” Tessa thought she heard some frustration or exasperation in the man’s voice. She figured she was mistaken since it was well known that Sagara didn’t show emotion.

Tessa nodded her thanks and opened the door to Med Bay.

“Where is that coward, Sousuke?” All three heard when she had the door half opened.

“He is outside, guarding the door just like you asked him to,” Melissa Mao said, and Tessa could see Kaname suddenly turn red and fold in on herself when she heard the steel in the older woman’s voice. The teenage Captain closed the door quickly, to prevent either man from attempting to come in at that point.

“Kaname-san, please, what is wrong?” Tessa asked as she bowed to the girl. When Kaname raised her blue-black head her brown eyes were filled with tears.

“I am confused,” the sixteen year old girl said. Tessa wasn’t quite sure if she believed that, but didn’t know her well enough to call her on it.

“Perhaps I can clear up any confusion?” Tessa offered. She knew what it was like to come into the Whispered abilities by force; she had watched it happen with her brother. She herself hadn’t had it quite so bad as that, but still.

“Why do I have to have those tests run?” Kaname then demanded; and from Mao’s body language it was a repeated question.

“What has Major Mao told you?”

“That you all think think those jerks who kidnapped me gave me a drug to make my mind open up to the Whispered thing, again.” Tessa nodded and handed Kaname a red file. Mao’s eyes widened in shock when she saw this. Tessa sat down on the bed next to Kaname.

“I remember when I was put through the training to start learning how to use my Whispered abilities. It was frightening and often painful,” The young girl spoke with the earnestness that was her trademark. An honest frankness which is what made her the darling of her crew.

“Mithril used to work with several different scientists to find a way to make it easier for people like us to access these abilities,” she sighed and laid her head on her right shoulder as she looked at the girl who was almost her polar opposite.

“They weren’t exactly successful,” the blond girl shuddered almost imperceptibly.

“So?” Kaname asked. “What has that got to do with what happened to me?”

“Mithril’s founders stopped working with several scientists  because their methods were,” Tessa paused to take a breath. “Brutal would be a kind way to describe them.” Kaname saw Mao nodding from the corner of her eye and began to frown in concern.

“Amalgam, as you know, works with pretty much whoever will give them what they want and the group doesn’t really care for anything other than results,” Tessa went on. Kaname knew the girl could be very serious; but she hadn’t seen her this focused before.

“Now Mithril and Amalgam aren’t the only groups who have drugs to force a Whispered’s abilities to the fore; but our’s are the only reliable drugs. Amalgam will sell theirs to the highest bidder,” she nodded to the red folder. Kaname opened it up and read through it quickly. Tessa was watching the raven haired beauty closely. This was a test, had Kaname known it.

“Oh my God,” Kaname gasped in horror. Then her breath caught in her throat and she frowned.

“How could I understand all that?” she asked slowly as she looked up into Tessa’s bright blue eyes.

“Actually, that’s a good sign,” The Captain of the Tuatha de Danann said. “If you didn’t understand any of it I’d have been more worried.” Kaname turned to look at Mao.

“She’s right, we know how smart you are,” Mao shrugged. “Knowing you can understand the whole thing means they most likely didn’t give you brain damage.” Kaname barked out a bitter laugh.

“That is the other reason for the tests we want to run, Ms Chidori. We want to make sure that AfA didn’t overdose you and cause any physical damage to your brain,” Tessa took the folder back.

“We also want to do the cognitive tests to be sure you didn’t lose any part of _you_ ,” Tessa said with feeling. Kaname sighed and leaned back against the wall. Sousuke had tried to tell her this. He had tried to make it clear they all only wanted her to be okay.

“No one wants to find out if my Whispered abilities have come to the fore?” Kaname asked softly. Mao smiled and took her hands.

“Kaname, our mission has been to try and make sure you have as normal a childhood as possible. Our leaders want you to be left to your own devices; to let the abilities develop normally,” the older woman sighed and released the younger girls hands.

“Unfortunately, there are a lot of bad people out there who also know how to find those with your abilities. We haven’t been doing a great job of protecting you,” Tessa said sadly. Kaname’s brown eyes snapped to the blond girl’s blue.

“Wrong!” she shouted as she grabbed the slender girl’s shoulder.

“Wh-what?”

“If Urzu squad wasn’t watching me, Amalgam would have already gotten the black box tech out of my head and I’d be dead or worse!” Kaname shook the girls shoulder slightly.

“If Urzu squad wasn’t watching me; if Kurz hadn’t been where he was these American assholes would still have me! Mithril is doing a great job!” Kaname said emphatically.

“Sousuke, Kurz and Melissa could use help, but that’s just because I am apparently the only unclaimed Whispered person out there!” and although there was a bit of humor in the statement there was also a bit of a question in it.

“I’ll see what I can do about getting them help,” Tessa said. Kaname nodded and breathed out, seeming to let go of something.

“If the tests will help make sure I’m really okay, and that’s all; then okay, I’ll stop fighting.” Tessa smiled and leaned in to hug the girl.

“No, don’t stop fighting, we all love your spirit!” she said and Kaname couldn’t help but smile at the sincerity. Mao and Tessa both walked out the door leaving Kaname alone for a brief moment. She had to stop herself from crying out when the door opened again.

* * *

 

“Kana?” Sousuke said as he shut the door, she raised her brown eyes to his and suddenly threw herself into his arms. He caught her as she did so, holding rock steady as she wrapped her long arms and legs around him. He had already locked the door to her room and was glad he had when he felt her body shaking as she began to sob.

Sousuke wasn’t sure what he should do with his crying lover, he wasn’t sure what to say so said nothing. He held her close to his chest, rubbing her back with onehand while she cried. When he realised she wasn’t going to stop any time soon he moved to the bed and sat down, not letting her go.

Kaname wasn’t sure how long she clung to Sousuke while she cried, but she was grateful he didn’t try to talk her out of it; just let her cry while offering the comfort of his arms. When her bone wracking sobs had wound down to mere sniffles she felt him pull something from his pocket. He didn’t try and move her off his lap, merely lifted her face so he could wipe the worst of the mess away with his handkerchief.

“I-I’m sorry,” she said with a hiccough. He shook his head and pressed his lips to her forehead.

“It’s not a problem,” he said softly as she slid off his lap and onto the bed; although he didn’t let her go very far from him. She blew her nose into the cloth handkerchief and crumbled it up in her hand.

“I ne-never cry like this,” she said, her breath still hitching. He placed a finger on her lips to silence her. He then brushed her hair from her face as it was sticking to her due to her sweating. He whispered a phrase in a language she didn’t know.

“What was that?” she asked him, her breathing getting calmer from his touch. She fleetingly thought how strange that was when usually his touch made it hard for her to breathe.

“My own,” he answered, and she felt her heartbeat speed up.

“Do you mean it?” she asked him, she didn’t know why she did; she was sure this was a temporary thing. She knew she was falling head over feet in love with him, but he didn’t know what love was. Heck, he didn’t know what happiness was.

“Never mind, forget I asked,” she said, trying to sound brusque but failing since she started crying again. He pulled her to his side as he moved so his back was against the wall.

“You are my own, Kana. _My_ Kana,” he swallowed as he laid his cheek on her head.

“I am sorry I let them get to you,” he said to her. “I will not fail you again,” she shivered at the steel in his voice.

“It’s my fault,” she started to say when he put his finger on her lips again.

“No, Kana, it is not your fault,” he sighed in frustration. “You are correct in that I cannot turn the school into a deathtrap; it would harm the other students. I will simply find another way to ensure your safety,” he said. He felt tears on his hand and looked up to see her crying again.

“Kana?” he asked.

“I am too much trouble,” she whispered, she tried to pull back when he growled in anger.

“No!” he said quietlyas he pulled back into his arms”You are _mine_! You are _not_ trouble,” he said emphatically.

* * *

* * *

Kaname spent another week on the submarine. She was either sleeping in Tessa’s quarters or she was in the Med Bay. The MRI and the CAT scan weren’t so bad; but the ink blot test was disturbing and when she had been given the logic puzzles she was amazed at how much more quickly she had been able to solve them.

She had cried herself to sleep in Sousuke’s arms; however, the day they had given her a box of what appeared to be miniaturized components and tools and just told to build something. So she had; she had built a working  one foot miniature M9 that was exactly like the Arbalest in every detail but for one.

It didn’t need a pilot.

 

* * *

_**HOLOGRAPHIC CONFERENCE CALL, MITHRAL HEADQUARTERS** _

**Two weeks later**

Lord Byron clears his throat and says ,“Ladies and gentlemen, it appears that something entirely unexpected has happened. The whole of Mithral has been bought out by a third party. We only learned of this after the buyout,” The assembled officers grunted in surprise. The idea that there was a company not attached to any one country that knew of them and had the money to buy out the entire organization . . . that was disturbing to say the least. The fact that it could be done without their knowledge despite their superior technology, information network, and skills made it more so.

“The buyout was performed by KRD. In our circles, they are known to possess better than cutting edge technologies and to hire out small squads of mercenaries. Unlike Mithril they never use squads larger than eight man teams. No intelligence agency or group in the world has been able to gain any information on them besides this.” The English Lord was working hard to keep his voice steady, to keep from betraying his nervousness.

“Our new Director as a few words he would like to say.” A hologram appeared in the middle of the groups conference tables. The members all looked at their individual conference tables that were scattered across the globe; there shouldn’t have been any way for them to get such a hologram.  A man in a grey t-shirt, jeans, and combat boots. He was  lean of build, and looked to be of a mixed Japanese/caucasian heritage.

“Good day, gentlemen”, he says in a deep jaunty voice. “This is an notification of the new status quo, and a chance to bail if you don’t like it. Yes, this is a hostile takeover. Yes, I placed microemitters in each of your conference rooms without your knowledge. This was to prove an upcoming point. Let us get down to business, hmmm?” He gave the assembled men a very wicked grin.

“My name is Killroy Deathrax; and for years now, I have watched your troop of would be do-gooders prance about the globe righting wrongs - so long as someone paid your fee to intervene. I have also seen your organization take horrific personnel as well as financial losses. I've also seen the massive leaks in security and intelligence. Holes that you seem to think you have plugged; most of which I was able to use to personally install those micro-emitters into each of your individual conference rooms. You've never plugged these holes, they have simply evolved and become worse. As it stands, I have in my possession the plans to one of your most advanced subs and the basic plans for your most advanced Arm Slave unit and I got all of this BEFORE I bought you out.” Killroy kept his tone even and polite, although there were clear signs of disdain in his body language. The hologram was extremely detailed.

“The simple fact is, I could be building better units and countermeasures for the current models if I so desired. I like your ideas, folks; but your execution is flawed.” He paused to give the men and women who were used to the world trembling at their names time to grasp what he was telling them. Their shocked faces and the stunned silence from these very powerful people was telling.

“As of now, that changes. KRD Sentinel tech is now something that all members of Mithral are going to be required to have. Every member of Mithril has received a copy of the new contract and the security measures that will be in effect. If you are not in agreement with all of the new terms, you are free to leave; there will very few penalties for doing so at this time. To be able to better operate and protect the world, you have to tighten security. Otherwise, you might as well be whistling dixie, because the enemy will attack from within.” Once more he waited a few moments. He watched as several members began to read the contract they had just received. He knew there were several members of this board who weren’t going to be happy with the new arrangements .

“Oh, and I will be personally taking over all Whispered projects, without exception.” He announced, almost as an afterthought, his eyes twinkling with merriment when Lord Byron and General Mosqu both looked to one another with alarm. “Seriously, do you guys have no clue how to help these poor people or use them without breaking them? Go to your rooms and think about your decisions before coming back with your answers! You have twentyfour hours to decide. My subordinates, Yama and Keilah will answer any questions.”

 

 

* * *

 

_**Jindai** _

_**Following morning at the Safe House** _

“Hey, Kurtz! Have you seen this”, Mao calls out, holding up the tablet with the new contract on it.

“That new contract? Yeah, I’ve seen it. Some guys I know in the communications department told me something that will perk your ears up. Apparently, the boss man of the company that bought us,  broke into every conference room ”, he answers.

“From what I understand, this Deathrax guy is really weird. He comes in out of the blue and starts talking to everyone in the world about coming up with technologies that are environmentally sound but still cost effective. Everyone laughed him till his company splashed on to the scene with exactly that!” Kurz sounded truly impressed, and Melissa knew it was hard to impress the German.

“He set up mobile doctors offices and truly affordable health insurance. You _never_ pay for more than you need and just about everything is covered. His Bob’s Stuffer Shacks have set a new standard across the world.” Melissa stared at her subordinate with shock written all over her face. He sure knew a lot about this. “Their life insurance is even better; and if it weren’t for the care that Mithril gives us I would have signed up for their Platinum Plan when they first came out. Talk about service; they’ll come get you out of a warzone!”

Mao blinked in surprise. “Really? I thought that was just a rumor. Getting a discount for one is a heck of a perk, but what about this implant business? A bomb in my brain? That’s a seriously disturbing prospect. What’s to keep someone from pulling the trigger on it from outside the Mithral? Or for giggles?”

Sousuke walked out of the bedroom with his school bag in hand. “Each one has specified coding built into it that is in an isolated system from the GPS system in it. The technology is sound. Militaries the world over have been developing it for decades. KRD’s model is generations ahead of the current proposed models. And is non-surgical.”

Their conversation halted at the sound of a knock at the door. The trio freeze and draw weapons. No one in Mithral would arrive without prior notice unless it was an emergency. It could be someone knocking at the wrong door, though. Sousuke approaches the door cautiously, pistol behind his back. Whoever it is knocks again.

Seconds after is a whirlwind of movement and chaos as someone opens the door and enters the room so fast, no one has a chance to react. Sousuke tries to raise his gun to cover the man leaning against the wall, only to find himself awkwardly holding a glazed doughnut. Weber and Mao also find themselves in similar situations. The tall man who was leaning against the wall holding a paper bag in each hand noded towards the desk with comms and surveillance equipment. Sitting on the corner of it is a cup holder with four cups in it.

“Nice reactions”, the man says as he nods. “Good placement for the layout. I approve. If it had been anyone but me, I would have stood no chance.”

“Who are you”, asks a stunned Weber.

“Oh, just a new teacher at Jindai High. Also; your new boss.”


	7. Feelings, nothing more than feelings!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is it time to end the relationship, or do they need to learn to talk to one another?

  


Kurz looked the strange man up and down in blatant assessment. All in all, he was rather non-descript. Short, spiky black hair. Lean, half-Japanese  features. Fit, but not over muscled. His overall look would let him blend into a crowd quite easily. The only thing about him stood out were his eyes. Despite the fact he did not look one specific age, his eyes betrayed his age. There was a lot of experience and life in them, with a spark of mischievous humor.

He was fast, though. One of the paper bags in his hands had their handguns in it. In the split second it took for him to enter the room and set down the coffee, this man had also snatched the guns and put them in the bag without making a sound. That wasn’t just skillful, that should have been impossible.

“Sorry. I did not mean to be rude. I am Killroy Deathrax. Would you like the guns back or the rest of the doughnuts”, he asked.

There was silence for a few seconds. Mao took a big bite out of her doughnut. “Mmmm. More of these, please. What kind of coffee?”

Killroy politely handed her the bag. “A little mom and pop place on Tsunade road. They make the doughnuts, too. My security team here in town has made it their second home.”

He sets the bag of hardware on the end table by Sousuke, who immediately began pulling the guns out of the bag and handing them to his team.

“Seriously, though, you guys have been covering Ms. Chidori quite well given the fact you are only a three person team,” He sounded quite impressed.

“It should be easier in two days. By then, your backup teams will be available to cover you when you might be busy. Though you shouldn’t be. Ms. Chidori is our top priority. If some higher up tries to get you guys off the case and on to something else, let me know. I will have to have them detained and questioned for ties to Amalgam. You would not believe the sheer number of their operatives I have been finding.”

Sousuke, having retrieved his pistol, joins the conversation. “I vaguely aware of them from when they tried to take Ms. Chidori before. They seem unduly interested in her. Do you have anything to add about them?”

“We have a file of the details you can peruse if you renew your contract”, he answers. “The long and short of it is; however, they seem to be trying to corner the market on Black Box Technology,” He reached out and snagged a coffee cup.

“I would go into further detail, but Sousuke and I have to meet Ms. Chidori at the train station. I have already set everything up with the school. I will be their new homeroom teacher. If either of you needs needs anything above and beyond the usual tell Ms. Testarosa that I said it was authorized. If all else fails, go to the Bob’s down the road and ask for a Shadowrunner Chummer. They’ll get you in contact with KRD security.” He waited for Sousuke to once again pick up his school bag and headed for the door.

“Oh, and I would really like to keep you two of you with Mithril. The three of you make an excellent team. If the new pay doesn’t suit you, call Kayla or Yama,” he nodded to the two before opening the door and letting Sousuke walk through before him.

Sousuke and Killroy walked down the hall quietly. Killroy seemed to start to vibrate by the time they reached the elevators.

“Sergeant, I know you aren’t going to leave Ms Chidori; and I have no problem with that. Your dedication to her has been nothing but an asset to your team and your effectiveness,” They waited for the elevator to open while he spoke.

“That being said, you may want to rethink your decision to not actually live in the same building at least,” the older man patted the younger on the shoulder in a fatherly way then changed the subject completely.

“Dude, you seriously need to invest in one of our coats or jackets. You’ll thank me later.”

Sousuke looks to Killroy. “Why is that?”

“The personal pocket dimension allows you to carry whatever you would like and not ruin the line of the jacket or put a giveaway twitch in your trousers. Makes carrying a decent arsenal a breeze.”

Sousuke frowned. “A pocket dimension? If that were possible, the only problem would be keeping a proper inventory.”

Killroy practically bounced with glee. “Kid, you are gonna love working for me. I swear, we have the best toys! The Ares line of firearms alone would make you drool! And all of them can be turned nonlethal! The cops here in Jindai have already converted from nine millimeter pistols to Ares Predators!”

As they exit the elevator, Sousuke shakes his head. “You are a weird individual.”

“Hey!”

* * *

_**Hours later** _   


_**Jindai high school** _

_**Lunch hour** _

Sousuke had been carefully watching Kaname throughout the day. Thanks to the ‘ _incident_ ’; as it was being called, he was now in all but one of her classes and that was gym. The principal of the school had made that change without any prompting from Mithril or KRD. She had also apparently taken KRD up on their added security for the school itself. From all that Sousuke had seen it was far superior to anything Mithril had, much less what they had been willing to give to the school. He was beginning to wonder if there weren’t more to what Killroy had told them that morning.   


  


“ _Ms. Chidori; my name is Killroy Deathrax and I am going to be your new homeroom teacher.” He bowed briefly to her, as a senior to a junior. She returned the gesture automatically._

“ _Sensai Deathrax,” she said respectfully. He watched how she moved closer to Sousuke, almost behind him and nodded to himself. She trusted the boy and that was good._

“ _I am also your boyfriend’s new boss, miss. If you should need anything and he is unavailable you can call on me,” he then bowed again and left them to make their way onto the train. Sousuke had to explain to a very confused Whispered what had transpired._

  


Now the military boy watched with concern as his Kana seemed to be more withdrawn than usual. He was afraid she was suffering undue trauma from her experience. Her friends had been good enough to ask only if she had been hurt and even though they had coddled her they hadn’t pressed for any more detail. Yet not even her best friend Kyoko had been able to pull her completely out of her shell.   


“Kaname, I would like to speak with you privately before our next class, will you come with me?” he said suddenly. She raised her brown eyes to his and nodded before rising from the table and gathering up their dirty lunch dishes. He helped her as so they could leave faster. He ran through the school blueprints in his mind and found the perfect place to go in order to speak with her.

He led her quickly through the halls, and grew even more concerned when she didn’t begin yelling at him to slow down or demand to know where they were going. He found the door he was looking for and quickly pulled her inside and locked the door.

It was an old music room, and his memory was correct in that it was still soundproofed. He hoped it would allow her to feel secure enough to get her emotions out. He didn’t like her holding whatever she was feeling in.

“You have been very quiet today, Kana; it has me concerned,” he said; reaching out to pull her into a hug. She surprised him by wrapping her arms around his waist and holding tightly to him. When she started crying he became alarmed.

“Kana, what is wrong?” he asked her. He wanted to sound gentle, but he didn’t know how.

“You’re going to be taken away from me,” she said through her tears. He gasped with understanding.

“No, my Kana, they are not,” he assured her. She shook her head in denial.

“New leadership means they won’t waste the money-” he kissed her to stop her talking. He had found it a most effective way to to make her stop talking as well as to make her listen to him.

“This Deathrax person has made it clear, he wants Urzu team to stay on the job; he’s making it possible for me to stay with you,” he said when she looked at him after he broke the kiss.

Her eyes widened when she realized that meant he wasn’t leaving her.

“You’re going to stay with me?” she asked with hope. He nodded curtly and she squealed and hugged him even more tightly.

Then she kissed him and passion flared between them like a sunburst. He gripped her ass and pulled her closer to him to deepen the kiss while her hands reached from under his arms to grip his shoulders tightly.

“Kana,” he growled into her mouth as he lifted her higher. She whimpered with desire as his hardened cock rubbed against her. It had been over a month since he’d fucked her; far too long. He broke the kiss and quickly looked around. There was a pile of gym mats in a corner of the room.

“Sosuke,” she pleaded. “Please!” His control nearly broke from the need in her voice. He swung her up into his arms and carried her quickly to the mats. Once more he kissed her while he slid his hands under her skirt and pulled down her panties. Her own hands weren’t idle, she was busy pulling his jacket apart and opening his pants. While he was sliding his fingers through her pubic hair to spread the lips of her pussy she grasped his dick in her slender fingers.

“Aaah,” he moaned, unable to make any coherent sound. The heat and wetness of her pussy combined with the feel of her hand squeezing him prevented him from thinking anything. He moved her hand and guided himself to her opening. He started slowly thrusting into her, but she started cumming immediately his head was inside her. He growled something she didn’t understand and wrapped his arms under her to begin pounding into her. She responded by locking her ankles together with her legs on his slender hips and using her elbows to leverage her hips up to meet his thrusts.

“Kana!” he shouted when she kept milking his dick with her pussy.

“Yes!” she shouted as well as she kept cumming. He shouted again, this time wordlessly as he pumped his seed into her. He collapsed upon her when he was finished, panting heavily from the suddenness of their exertions. They dozed like that for a while.

“Habibi,” she heard him mutter in his sleep. It sounded as if it were Islamic; which would make sense as he had spent so much time in Afghanistan when he was a child. She had woken when he shifted his weight so he was lying beside her. She took out her cell phone and looked at the time.

“Ack!” she said, a little more loudly than she intended. He jerked awake, pulling his gun and aiming it at the door. At first she was startled by the action and his speed; then she really looked at him. He was sitting there with his back against the blind covered window, his pants open and his penis bare to the world with his gun drawn on a locked door. She couldn’t help herself and started laughing.

Sousuke realized there was no threat when he heard her laughter. He put his gun away and looked at her with confusion.

“What is so amusing, Kaname?” he asked her, standing up and straightening his clothes. She laughed even harder. He frowned at her and looked at his watch. He was surprised to see that they had only ten minutes until the bell for class rang.

“Kana, please put yourself to rights, class will be starting soon,” he said in his matter of fact way. She laughed even more, curling into a ball on the mats as she laughed. He frowned again as he watched her.

“Kana-chan, what is so amusing?” he asked her. He had to wait for her to wind down before she could answer him, breathlessly.

“You were ready to shoot someone with your penis hanging out of your pants,” she said to him. He shook his head to show his confusion. She chuckled and rose to put her panties back on.

“Sousuke, it was funny to me, don’t worry about it,” she said as she headed for the door. He reached out and took her hand in his. She turned to face him, her eyes wide with expectation.

“I am sorry to have …” he seemed at a loss for a word.

“Fucked me?” Kaname asked, and he could tell the word; as well as the concept, was distasteful to her. He also decided, right then, he didn’t like hearing her say it. Especially in conjunction with herself.

* * *

* * *

_**Four hours later** _   


_**Outside Kaname’s apartment complex.** _

The ride home had been uneventful. It had been nice having him on the train with her, instead of just there. Even when he had made it clear they were dating, he hadn’t actually done more than walk behind her when they were going home. She wasn’t sure he understood the whole dating concept.   


But today had been different. He had met her at the train station, sure; but he walked to the station with her after school. He sat beside her on the train, even held her hand. She had enjoyed it.

Now they were outside her apartment building and he was going to leave her there alone, and she felt frightened. She didn’t want him to leave her alone. After they had come back from the Tuatha this time she hadn’t wanted to be alone at all; this was unlike her. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen to her, again. She knew it was unlikely, she knew all three of her bodyguards would be more on guard than they had before; but still.

She turned her blue-black head to look at her bodyguard cum lover and squeezed his hand tightly.

“Don’t leave me alone,” she pleaded with him. His frown of concern gave her hope.

“I cannot stay with you, Kaname, it will draw attention,” he told her. Tears welled up in her brown eyes and she started to shake. He saw her fear, and then watched as her eyes began to frost over. He could actually feel her pulling away from him. He wasn’t sure how he could feel that, her withdrawal from him.

“Fine,” she said; he could see her swallow her fear. He watched her turning back into the girl she had been before Okinawa.

“Kana-”

“No, it’s okay. I understand; you have to worry about how it will look,” she turned away, attempting to withdraw her hand from his. He didn’t let go. He felt strange a heat filling his chest, rising up and causing a buzzing in his ears.

“Kaname Chidori, stop talking,” he ordered her softly. She turned back to face him with a look of shock. “You will explain that statement,” he said as he pulled her off the sidewalk and into the shadow of the building, keeping her close to him. “Because if you mean what I think you mean we will have a problem,” he finished with soft menace. She raised her chin with false bravado, trying to show she wasn’t intimidated.

“You won’t stay with me because you have to worry how it will look to Mithril,” she said, and cursed herself for the tremor in her voice. How had this boy’s opinion come to mean so much to her in so short a time?

She began to tremble harder when his brown eyes went from merely annoyed to black with anger. She didn’t know what he was going to do when he raised his left hand and pressed the left button on his collar.

“Mao, disconnect all surveillance at Kaname’s domicile, now” his voice was ice cold, his body rigid. He was clearly furious. She heard a squawk from his earpiece, but he simply repeated his command. When he heard the click that told him the listening device in his clothing was disconnected he reached down and swung Kaname up over his shoulder.

He was inside the building before she could do more than squeak. He didn’t take the elevator to her apartment on the fifth floor, he ran up the stairs. He wasn’t even breathing hard when they reached the landing to her floor; but she was still speechless from the shock of it.

When he reached into his pocket and pulled a key to her door she almost found her voice; but then he was inside and had slammed and locked the door before she could do more than take a deep breath.

Yet for all his anger and rushed movements he had been sure not to cause her hurt and even now when he put her down he did so gently.

“Now, why do you think that I care if Mithril knows you are mine?” he asked her, again with that soft menace. He had placed his pack next to the door, he was now unbuttoning his coat as he walked towards her, maneuvering her back to her bedroom. She swallowed when she realized just how angry he was.

“Sou-Sousuke, I didn’t mean-” she started to say when he cupped the back of her head and brought her mouth to his for a punishing kiss that left her breathless.

“Answer the question, Kana mine,” he demanded against her lips.

“You said you couldn’t stay because it would draw attention,” she whispered back, he could feel her trembling in his hands. He kissed her again, deeply; his hands quickly removing the blouse of her school uniform.

They had reached the door to her bedroom which was open. He had dropped her blouse and his shirt just outside; he had already kicked off his shoes and was now unfastening her skirt. Once it was on the floor he lifted her by the waist and tossed her onto her bed. She landed with a soft wumf and he took the time to remove her shoes and then his pants and underwear.

She raised herself up on her elbows, planting her stocking clad heels on the bed and looked at the Sergeant. She swallowed hard when she saw him standing there; fully erect and his entire body wound tight as if ready for a fight. From where she lay she could feel the ferocity in him, the anger.

“Sousuke, please,” she whispered; a fear of him sneaking in. He surged onto the bed, between her legs and into her in one swift move; his mouth clamping onto hers with barely restrained violence.

Kaname was shocked to discover she was wet and ready for him, was even more surprised when she started cumming once he was fully inside her. He growled in her ear, she thought it was her name but wasn’t sure. He shifted her so her legs were held apart by his thighs, she was more open to his invasion than before.

Invade her he did; he gave her no chance to recover from her sudden orgasm. He withdrew almost completely from her tight sheath only to slam hard into her. Her pussy was grasping to hold him inside her but he was implacable in his movements.

Sousuke Sagara wasn’t thinking this time any more than he had in the old music room earlier that day. He heard her gasping his name as her body came undone beneath him and it urged him to keep going. All he knew was she had tried to take herself away from him; and he wasn’t letting her go.

No one was taking her from him; not even her.

Kaname kept repeating his name as he moved inside her, almost all the way out and then slamming into her with a ferocity that bordered on painful. He kept his mouth hovering above hers as he did; letting her speak until her voice started to rise. Then he sealed his mouth over hers, breathing harshly through his nose. Her cries became whimpers, she finally grasped his shoulders with her hands, her nails digging into the muscles. As her body relaxed under him he changed his strokes to something more gentle; although no less frustrating for the Whispered girl.

“You are mine, Kana-chan, never forget it,” he said into her ear. Then he pulled out of her and turned her over, onto her knees and elbows. This time he had his legs outside of hers as he thrust into her. She was always tight on him but this time he almost didn’t fit inside her. She started to scream when he leaned forward and covered her mouth.

“Bite your pillow, Kaname,” he ordered before he removed his hand and gripped her hips with both hands again. He looked down as he thrust into her, watching her full ass shake as he slammed into her. Hearing her grunt and moan as he did drove him over the edge; he lost control.

Kaname wasn’t sure how it happened, but she was suddenly lying on her stomach on the bed, the full weight of him driving her into the mattress as he thrust into her. She couldn’t believe how good it felt. She thought, briefly, that she should be terrified of this but instead she was cumming harder than she had since he first fucked her.

She didn’t kid herself that he wasn’t fucking her now, though. She could feel each of his fingers as they gripped her ass. She heard him murmuring Kana over and over; and she had cum repeatedly. He wasn’t trying to please her, though. Somehow she knew this was something far more primal.

He stopped moving long enough to nearly howl in frustration before turning her back over. He lifted her left leg and hooked it over her shoulder; keeping her right leg hooked around his thigh. When he looked at her face, he could see tears rolling out of the corner of her eye but wasn’t sure what it meant.

And at that moment he didn’t care, he simply reached between her legs and tugged gently on her clit. The contrast between that and the violence of his thrusts sent her over the edge once again, this time he didn’t try and keep her from crying out; this time he came with her.

They both slept for an hour when Kaname woke with a start, causing him to awaken as well. He heard her crying and frowned. In the fading afternoon light he saw her flinch from his hand when he reached for her and it caused him to still.

“Kana?” he said, and he heard a tone in his voice he’d never heard before. He also felt something cold start in his chest when she had pulled away.

“Don’t,” she whispered quietly.

“I don’t understand,” he said. She looked up at him, and she could see he truly was confused.

“Don’t pretend I matter,” she said by way of explanation. “Because I know I don’t,” there was no mistaking the heartbreak in her voice and Sosuke knew he’d put it there. He’d done it; although he didn’t know how.

“What did I do wrong?” he asked her, and if Kaname hadn’t known he truly didn’t know what he’d done she would have gotten angry; but she couldn’t even laugh.

“Why did you fuck me like that?” she asked him, some part of her feeling satisfaction when he flinched at her use of the verb. “Even when you were fucking me before, it wasn’t like that,” she went on. Seeing his eyes squinch with her use of the vulgar term eased some of the bile that was rising in her throat.

“I wasn’t fucking you,” he said. Oh she wanted to believe him; but how could she.

“The only reason you saved me from those Americans for America assholes was because I am easy pussy,” she said. He heard, but didn’t understand the bitterness that came out of her mouth.

“You tell me to spread my legs and I do; I don’t even try to stop you!” She stood up from her bed to face him, wearing nothing more than her white bra and white stockings. Her hair had come out of it’s confinement and was flying around her face.

“You only ever have to say stop” he said to her and she screamed in frustration.

“You wouldn’t even let me speak just now!” she shouted at him. That she was angry was clear, and he knew he should be glad she was yelling at him, but he wasn’t sure he actually deserved to be yelled at. This was a first for him, not thinking she had the right to berate him.

“You accused me of caring more for Mithirl’s opinion of me than I care for you,” he said with a vehemence that matched her own. He had even moved so he was standing naked before her. He kept his hands at his sides, although hers were now akimbo on her hips.

“You said it would cause undue attention!” She shouted at him, trying to use sheer volume to make him smaller than her since he towered over her by half a foot.

“Yes, it would cause you embarrassment if it got back to the school that I had spent the night!” he shouted right back in her face.

That took the wind out of her sails.

“What?” she said softly, suddenly embarrassed.

“I told you I didn’t care if they knew we were dating, I am proud that you are mine,” he reminded her in his normal tone of voice. “I will not; however,  have any of the  men in that school assuming that they can have sex with you just because you have sex with me,” he said. His voice had taken on that possessive tone she had first heard three months before. The possessiveness that she heard when he called her ‘Kana’.

“Oh,” she replied, lowering her head in shame. She heard an exasperated sound explode from his chest before he lifted her head up.

“Kana mine, you are allowed to be angry,” he said. His voice was softer, if not gentle. “I am sorry if you thought; ever thought, that you had no say in what we do together,” he said with a seriousness that startled her. “I will stop if,”  he stopped speaking when she kissed him as ferociously as he had kissed her earlier.

“I was afraid,” she said, and he felt that chill again.

“Of me?”

“A little, yes,” she admitted, and he pulled back from her. “No, don’t leave me,” she said with a desperation he didn’t like to hear from her.

“I -” he stopped. “Kana, did you not want me to have sex with you?” he finally asked, unsure if it was the right thing to do. She lowered her eyes and took a deep breath before shaking her head in the negative.

“It’s not that, Sousuke,” she said. “No, I didn’t want to have sex,” she said, only to hold his arms tighter when he again tried to pull away. “I don’t mean that you forced me!” she said vehemently. “I, I just- it just felt like you were using it to punish me,”  she finished quietly.

Sousuke thought about what she said, not sure exactly how to answer her. He went with the truth; as always.

“I was not thinking of punishing you, Kana-chan,” he replied after a few moments. “I-I heard you say that I was worried about how it looked, and it - felt- like you were going to tell me you were leaving me,” Her innocent brown eyes widened with shocked understanding of what that meant. “I only thought that no one was taking you from me; not even you,” he swallowed as the implication of what that meant for him began to fill his mind.

“Stupid,” she said with sudden humor before she kissed him softly. “You should have asked why I wanted you to stay,” she whispered in his ear as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body close to his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I didn't mean for this to happen. When I wrote "bodyguard cum lover" it is an actual double entendre that I didn't mean. it's just that the proper word for that change in status is cum. LOL.


	8. I love you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Confessions of the heart and epiphanies from and for the Whispered.

**June 2nd-six months later**

_**Amusement Park** _

Kaname, Kyoko, Mizuki and Ren entered the amusement park that Saturday morning looking forward to a bit of fluff for the day. School had just let out for the summer and they were all going to be busy with summer jobs soon so they wanted to have as much fun as they could before that started.

“How did you convince Sousuke to let you come with us?” Kyoko asked her friend, who rolled her eyes.

“He doesn’t keep me locked in my apartment ya know,” she said with exasperation.

“No, but usually you’re with him on the weekends, like he doesn’t want you hanging out with your friends!” Mizuki said with her bright voice. Her eyes twinkled behind her glasses with amusement.

“Ah,” Kaname said with passion. “We just like spending time alone on the weekends is all,” she hoped she didn’t blush when she said that. It was bad enough her girlfriends were always trying to get her to tell them private things; she didn’t need them guessing anything more.

Although, come to think of it; how they hadn’t guessed she and Sousuke were having sex was a bit of a miracle.

“Ever since you were kidnapped right out of the school, though; he seems to be even more protective than before,” Ren pointed out. Kaname nodded and smiled.

“Yes, and I have to admit that I’m happy about that,” she said honestly. The girls all stopped and stared at their friend.

“WHAT?” they demanded. She turned to face the group and sighed.

“The people who took me were going to hurt me,” she said softly. She hadn’t actually told them what had happened as most of it was stuff they wouldn’t understand. “Sousuke rescued me before they could, and I don't’ remember much,” she said to her friends. They were all wide eyed with shock as they listened to her.

“What I do remember is being terrified, and Sousuke being protective makes me not scared,” she admitted to them. All three girls seemed to think that was the most romantic thing they had heard.

“Really?” Kaname asked sarcastically.

“Look, we can’t know how that felt,” Ren said practically, as usual. “But knowing that Sousuke makes you feel safe _is_ romantic,” she finished. Kaname smiled shyly at her friends.

“Yeah, it kinda is,” she agreed. All four laughed and then went forward into the park. None of them knew about the five man squad that was there as well, keeping an eye on the group while they enjoyed themselves.

* * *

_**Kaname’s apartment** _

Sousuke frowned in concentration as he went over the plans for the apartment building he was moving into this weekend. Kaname had no idea that he was going to be living right next door, nor did she know that there was going to be a new door in her bedroom. All the surveillance equipment in her apartment had been removed. There were now Mithril and KRD operatives on the floor above and below hers. Kurz Weber and Melissa Mao had the apartment across from hers while he had the apartment next to hers.

It had taken six months for all this to be arranged. In that time, with the new security and surveillance from KRD they had managed to foil three new kidnapping attempts before they even reached Jindai.

Sadly, Kaname was still suffering nightmares from the drug they had used. He took every opportunity to get her to the hotel and away from the source of the memories.

He didn’t know how to help her, except to just be there for her. He had begun to realize that comforting her through her nightmares actually made him feel better. He was always a sound sleeper, he had learned to block all memories of the terrible things he had seen and done a long time ago. It was the only way he had been able to sleep when he was younger. She didn’t deserve to have to do that.

Sousuke heard a slight clunking to his left and turned to look. It was the miniature Arbalest that Kaname had named Junior. He was sure that having this machine around didn’t actually help her mindset, but she did seem to sleep better since it had been delivered to her.

“Sergeant Sagara, Sir, may I be of assistance?” it asked. Sousuke thought for a moment.

“Junior, what are your mission parameters?” he asked it.

“I have no mission parameters, Sergeant.”

“No one programmed you at all?” Sousuke asked incredulously.

“No Sergeant.”

“Are you able to deduce why?” the military boy asked with curiosity.

“According to Mister Takamyodo in technologies; Miss Chidori built in security that prevented them from tampering with my core systems,” it said.

“Oh,” Sousuke thought about it for a little while longer.

“Query Junior. Should Miss Chidori be here alone and someone were to enter the home without her consent, what is your first course of action?”

“How many intruders?” the one foot tall AS asked.

“Just one.”

“I will stun the intruder and cover Miss Chidori’s retreat into a safe area of the apartment. Once she is safe, I will bind said intruder and call for you, Sergeant Sagara,” it replied.

“If there are multiple intruders?” the human asked the machine.

“I am to immediately send a call to Mithril’s Urzu squad while I cover Miss Chidori’s retreat,” it answered promptly. Sousuke nodded his head.

“Junior, we are going to be making changes to Miss Chidori’s apartment. These changes are to give her maximum safety,” he pointed to the wall he was currently taking measurements of. “There will be a hidden door into the next apartment. Should she need to be evacuated, this is the preferred escape route, understood?” The machine seemed to think about the information. Before responding.

“Affirmative, Sergeant Sagara,” it responded. “Is there any way I may assist?” it asked again.

“I am merely taking measurements at this time, Junior,” he said with a sigh. “I need to be sure I know where everything is placed so she won’t be missing anything when we finish the changes,” Sousuke said.

“Sergeant Sagara,” the miniature Arbalest said. “Where are you wanting to put the door? Is it to be seamless and hydraulic or will there be hinges on the other side of the wall?”

“It will be a hydraulic that slides into the wall,” the teenager answered while he took still more measurements.

“Then Sergeant, The best place for the door would be here,” the machine announce, using a laser light to outline where it postulated. Sousuke frowned as he thought about it. It was correct; that was a much better placement.

“Very good, Junior. That will definitely be optimal,” he nodded, before he could begin to draw out the plan Junior immediately used those same lasers to cut through the wood of the wall. Sousuke started to say something when the machine quickly caught the panel and moved it back and into the other room.

“Junior!” Sousuke shouted.

“Sir?” It asked, and for a second Sousuke thought it sounded like a child being reprimanded.

“What are you doing?” he asked it.

“I have the tools necessary to facilitate the upgrade,” it said. This time Sousuke was sure it sounded as if it were a child trying to please an adult.

“Understood, Junior; however we were going to make the wall in my bedroom steel, we were also going to make the door steel,” he said as if he were explaining to Kaname his plan.

“Then I have caused a malfunction?” It asked.

“Not exactly,” Sousuke said, thinking furiously. He quickly described what he wanted and the AS nodded and went to work. Between the two of them they managed to make the new door seem a part of the wall without it being obvious it was a door.

Sousuke was actually more pleased since it would give him an easier way to reach his Kana. Sousuke noticed that the miniature AS seemed to be pleased with the outcome as well and wondered about it.

* * *

 

Kaname’s friends parted from her at the door to her apartment complex after their fun filled day at the amusement park. Kaname held several stuffed toys in her arms as well as a large bag of cotton candy. She pressed the buzzer on the door; a security feature that had been added in the last six months. She had to admit it made her feel safer.

“Kana-chan?” Sousuke asked as he looked through the video monitor. She smiled at him over her stuffies. “I’ll be right down,” he said. She heard what sounded like relief in his voice. When he opened the door to the complex he took several of the larger animals from her before letting her through. Once the door was closed and clicked lock behind them he leaned forward and softly kissed her lips. She moaned and leaned into him, trying to get him to kiss her more firmly. It drove her crazy when he kissed her like that.

“Why are you so mean to me?” she asked with a whine when he pulled away from her, smiling.

“You deserve soft kisses,” he said with pleasure at her reaction. They had been together for almost a year now and he still enjoyed her reactions to him. He didn’t feel the need to bed her nearly every night, but he still hadn’t gotten enough of her. It was taking time, but he was learning to understand her.

Like right now, he knew she was happy that they had spent the day apart. It had irked him that she had wanted to go without him at first; but when he had agreed that it would be safe enough her eyes had lit up with pleasure as well as relief.

He took in the sight of his lover in her red shorts and white button down shirt. He was pleased to see that everything covered her without hiding her too much. He knew she liked to look cute, and she was finally beginning to believe he thought she was beautiful. This meant she had stopped fighting him about wearing more revealing clothes when not with him.

“I see Mizuki won you lots of stuffed animals,” he said. It was in his normal tone of voice and he didn’t smirk but he got the desired reaction out of his Kana.

“Arrgh! Stupid! You know Mizie can’t hit anything!!” she used one of the stuffed animals to hit his arm as they walked into the elevator together. He smiled at her and she mock screamed at him.

“Teasing me?” she said incredulously.

“I missed you, Kana mine,” he said, there was tenderness in his voice and Kaname teared up. Six months since she was kidnapped and he was no longer acting as if he were her owner. He was still very possessive, but she liked it. She even liked how dominant he was in bed; and Kaname wasn’t sure why. She had gotten used to being the only one in charge of herself, the only one who cared what happened to her and here was this soldier who seemed to care.

“I love you, Sousuke,” she said in reply, stunning herself into silence.

The elevator doors opened on their floor and he just blinked at her. Before she could open her mouth to say anything else he had dropped the stuffies he was holding and knocked the one’s in her hands away; including the cotton candy bag. He kissed her as if he were drowning. He held her as if she were his only lifeline. She moaned his name when he pulled back enough to take a breath. He picked her up and stopped the elevator doors from closing at the same time. He didn’t waste time trying to get into her apartment, he took her to his apartment before consuming her mouth again.

He held her still as he kissed her, his tongue delving deeply into her mouth. He took his time exploring her mouth with his tongue, stroking her tongue with his own. He drank in the sound of her pleasure.

He thanked his lucky stars she was wearing a button down blouse today when he started to quickly undo the buttons. When her arms lifted and her fingers began to tug at the button on his own shirt he growled into her mouth, freezing her movements. He ran his hands across her collarbone to open the blouse; down her arms to slide it off her. He felt her shiver from his touch and growled again.

“Take three steps back, Kana,” he panted against her lips; holding her hips as she did as he commanded. This put her against the back of a chair and he pressed his body against hers. Her legs opened for him, making room for him. She sighed in pleasure when the full length of him pressed against her heat. His fingers slid up her waist to her bra. Again she shivered at his touch.

He traced his fingers over the cotton covering her breasts, chuckling when she moaned into his mouth and her fingers gripped the biceps of his lower arms and flexed. He felt her nipples harden under his fingers before he lightly pinched them through the thin fabric. He slid his hands around her back and arched her back forward. He carefully traced kisses down her throat to her sternum. When he reached the area between her breasts he gently used his teeth to unhook the clothing. Her breasts bounced slightly as they were freed from the offending cloth and he used the motion to capture the nipple of her right breast in his mouth.

Kaname’s hands slid up his arms to grip the triceps. She arched her back further up to get her breast closer to the heat of his mouth.

“Sousuke,” she breathed when he tugged roughly on the nipple in his mouth with his teeth. She slid her hands into the silk of his black hair as she moaned his name a second time. He switched to her left breast and caressed her back and sides as he moved his work calloused hands down to the waistband of her shorts.

“Sousuke,” she whispered again when she felt her shorts coming undone.

He felt her shiver a third time and forced himself to stop. She opened her eyes in confusion when she felt his mouth leave her and his hands move to the chair behind her.

“Wha-why’d you stop?” she mumbled as she leaned forward to kiss his throat.

“You keep shivering,” he said, and she could hear his passion for her straining against his control.

“Your touch,” she said as she pressed her body into his.

“Explain, please,” he said, still holding tightly to his control.

“Just fuck me, Sousuke, please?” she murmured before pulling his mouth to hers.

Something inside the seventeen year old snapped. He wasn’t sure why her saying that after confessing she loved him made him so angry; but it did. He lifted her by her hips and carried her to his bedroom.

The room had been re-panelled in cherry wood; and it gleamed in the light from the fixtures in the room. All four corners of the room had electric lights on candelabra stands with individual cream shades. The lights were of a low wattage to keep the atmosphere of the room cozy.

The floor was solid oak, deep and dark it seemed to make the room smaller than it really was. There was a stand alone faux fireplace with a long oversized sofa in front of it and a large cream colored shag area rug under that.

The window had been turned into a seating area for two, with a small bookshelf under the seats as well as beside the window. It was made of ashwood; the cream color of the wood a stark contrast to the floor and wall; yet also contributing to the coziness of the room.

The middle of the room was taken up with an American California King sized bed that was modeled to look like an Edo Period bed. Simple lings, Japanese Oak frame and solid. The bedding was one of the ‘space age’ types, meant to conform to the sleeper’s body. He had it set up so that it would make no noise when he had sex with her.

Yet at this moment the only thing he could think of was showing this woman what she meant to him. He couldn’t put it into words; so he had to show her.

He put her on her feet at the foot of the bed and removed her bra while kissing her. Once more he stopped himself. He was shaking so much he was afraid he was going to hurt her.

“Sousuke, why did you stop again?” she whined on a moan.

“I can’t,” he said softly.

“Can’t what?” she asked, her brown eyes were glazed with passion, but confusion was beginning to cloud them.

“I can’t _fuck_ you,” he told her, a rawness in his voice she’d never heard before. He wasn’t sure where the admission came from, or why he even voiced it. He just knew he couldn’t do that to her; that he hadn’t been _fucking_ her for months.

“What do you mean?” she asked him, panic beginning to fill her eyes. Sousuke reached up with his trembling hands and cupped her cheeks; his chocolate brown, desire laden eyes searching her own whiskey brown eyes. “Don’t you want me?” she asked, tears beginning to fill her eyes.

“God yes,” he whispered.

“Then I don’t understand,” she said.

“You...are…,” he seemed to falter, unable to find the words. He didn’t understand what he was feeling. “I hurt you, when I said I wanted to fuck you, didn’t I?” he asked her. She nodded slowly.

“I… I … I don’t want to be the cause of  your hurt,” he stumbled over the phrasing, trying to find the words for what he meant. “I ... ,” again he stopped. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s not just _that_ anymore; it’s more than that. I-it’s _you_ ,” He opened his eyes and looked into hers again, hoping she understood what he did not.

“So you don’t want to _fuck_ me anymore?” she asked, confusion still clear in her voice.

“No…” he paused and released her face, took two steps back from her. “I...I want more?” it was more of a question that a statement. Kaname frowned and crossed her arms over her breasts when he pulled away from her; feeling bereft.

“More how?” she asked him quietly. He sighed and seemed to pull even further away from her.

“I want … I want to ….deserve you,” he said finally. The tears in Kaname’s eyes began to fall.

“Oh, Sousuke,” she whispered. “I don’t know how I managed without you,” she said before giving him a soft laugh.

“You were fine without me, Kana-chan,” he said; and for once he didn’t try to hide the broken child inside the hardened man.

“True, Sergeant,” she said with a small smile after she reached for her bra and put it back on. He swallowed watching her. He kept his arms at his side.

“Sergeant Sagara!” she said smartly; sounding almost like an officer.

“Yes Miss Chidori” he responded.

“I order you to kiss me,” she said. He blinked at her.

“What?”

“Sousuke,” she sighed and stepped close to him again, wrapping her arms around his waist. “If I had thought about it before I said it, I wouldn’t have told you I loved you,” she admitted. She felt his whole body tense up.

“Why not?” he asked her stiffly. “Didn’t you mean it?”

“Yes, Sousuke Sagara, I meant it. I love you,” she put her hand on his mouth to stop him from speaking. “I wouldn’t have told you because you don’t love me,” she kissed him softly on the lips.

“Kaname-” she kissed him again to stop him speaking.

“It’s okay, Sousuke. I know you care for me. You’ll protect me, that’s more than anyone else has ever done,” Sousuke frowned as she lay her head on his chest and held him. She didn’t understand and he was unable to express it.

“Habibi,” he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her closer. She didn’t hear him that time.

“Sousuke, whose apartment is this?”  Kaname asked after several minutes had passed. He started laughing. “What?”

Kana mine; I wanted to surprise you,” he said between bouts of laughing.

“What do you mean?”

“Come,” he said; taking her hand and leading her back into the living room.

“These are my new living quarters,” he said as if revealing a prize on a game show. Kaname would have laughed, but she was too delighted.

The room was a conglomeration of American, Japanese and Afghani decor. The walls were painted a soft blue with a deeper blue trim as a wainscotting. Her eyes danced over all the paintings and photographs scattered and clumped along the walls. There were pictures of desert scenes just as the sun was rising or setting; there was even one from the entrance of a cave looking out at rain as it poured down on the sand.

In each there was a young boy in the picture seeming to be lost in thought as he looked over the desert.

The paintings were a collection of more modern art with classically themed one’s as well.

The floor was actually carpeted, with a deep plush carpet the color of cherrywood. He had a low table in the center of the room, traditional Japanese red maple that offset the lighter color of the carpet. She grinned when she saw the sixties American Diner style dining area. It was in sunshine yellow and chrome.

The whole room was draped with differing types of cloths. Different fabrics, colors and designs; giving the whole space the feel of a tent.  Even the lighting seemed to emanate from a central point although the room was too well lit for that to be the case.

“Sousuke!” she exclaimed breathlessly.

“You like it?” he asked her. She turned shining eyes to him and gave him a smile that lit the room better than any light fixture could.

“It’s perfect!” she said before throwing herself into his arms to kiss him again. He wasn’t sure why she was so enthusiastic about it. She didn’t bother to tell him how seeing this room; a blend of the two of them, spoke volumes about his feelings. She wasn't sure how she _knew_ that he had chosen the decor, but she was.

“Show me the rest!” she said with a happy laugh. Hearing her laugh that way eased some of his own pain from earlier. He had at least made her happy. "There is only the bedroom and bathroom, Kana-chan. Did you not look when we were in there earlier?” he asked her with what she was beginning to learn was his teasing tone.

“I did not, military boy!” she responded indignantly. “Your mouth distracted me,” she said, bringing a blush to his cheeks. He looked down at her chest, still only covered by her bra.

“Well,” he drug the word out slightly “I do like the way you taste,” he said seriously; making her blush in return.

“Let’s just go see the room,” she muttered, bending down to grab her shirt from the floor. He quickly took it from her hands and threw it into the chair that had been behind. She snapped her head to him, intending to yell when she saw the smirk on his face. She laughed and shook her head.

“Before we do, I have a question for you,” he said.

“Okay,” she replied slowly and suspiciously.

“What is the term for how you want to have sex with me?” Her brown eyes widened. She was stunned he’d ask that question; but at the same time she was glad.

“I want you to make love to me, Sousuke,” she replied after a moment of staring at him. She watched him as he took in the information. When he nodded she turned back to the chair and grabbed her shirt again; getting it on and tying the two sides together before he could get it from her again. She had to turn away from him so he wouldn’t see her swallow the lump the question had caused.

His warm hands slid around her waist from behind her and laced his fingers together on her flat stomach. She leaned back against him, enjoying his warmth. The sound of his breathing, soft as it was, was comforting as well.

“I need to apologize, Kana,” he said. She tilted her head back to look at him.

“For what?”

“For not being able to express myself better,” The raven haired teen shook her head.

“Sousuke, we don’t always speak the same language,” she said as she turned in his arms and put her hands on his shoulders. “But you …,” she stopped and thought about it for a second.

“You make me feel safe, secure, special,” she smiled at him; letting the love she felt shine through.

“Yet you felt as if I were only using you when we had sex?” he asked. She frowned as she thought about how to answer that and realised she didn’t have a way to explain it that he would understand.

“Sousuke, I … I think maybe you should talk to Kurtz about the difference,” she finally replied. “I don’t know how to break it down for you,” she admitted. He nodded his understanding before placing a gentle kiss on her left temple.

“May we _please_ go see the bedroom now?” she asked him with mock pouting. He smiled at her and kissed her lips, again gently. She moaned against his lips and leaned into his body.

“Mmm, Sousuke, if you keep kissing me like that you’ll have to carry me into the bedroom,” she sighed against his lips. She heard him chuckle a second before he lifted her into his arms. She gave a short shriek and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Not a problem,” he replied as he walked them back into the bedroom. This time she was able to take in the decor and she gasped with obvious delight.

“Sousuke! You remembered!” she squealed before squirming to get out of his arms. He found himself laughing with her as she ran to the bed he had ordered custom for her.  The light color of the Japanese Oak stood a perfect contrast to the darkness of the rest of the room.

“Edo period _and_ Japanese Oak! Sousuke, oh I _do_ love you so much!” she shouted as she threw herself back into his arms, wrapping her lithe athletic legs around his hips and covering his mouth with hers to kiss him deeply. They were both breathless when the kiss ended and he was once again hard and throbbing as he pressed against her core.

“You only looked at the bed, Kana-mine,” he said roughly.

“Right now it’s the only piece of furniture I care about, please make love to me,” she breathed against his mouth before coaxing it open again with her tongue. He groaned when she used her locked legs to leverage herself into a slow grind against his dick.

Sousuke took command of the kiss by making it lighter and softer; though he used his grip on her ass to press harder against her pussy with his dick. Her gasp of pleasure his reward.

Sousuke took his time kissing his Whispered lover, laughing softly when she moaned out idiot and tried to shift her weight to make him move.

When he finally relented enough to put her on the bed, it was only because she had come undone; drenching her shorts with her orgasm. He was unable to take his time removing their clothes; every time his fingers brushed her skin she gasped and groaned while she shivered.

He stopped to breath when he’d removed his boxers; staring at the raven haired beauty waiting with open body for him. He could smell her previous orgasm, could see the wetness of her labia. He breathed out a hefty huff and slid to his knees on the floor. He pulled her closer to him with her hips and began to lick her juices from her. Her hands immediately curled into his hair and she tugged him closer. Nine months of being together had neither diminished his desire for her, nor hers for him.

“Sousuke!” she shouted, pulling painfully on his hair. “Please! I need you inside me now!” her plea undid the last of his control and he moved quickly to enter her slick tight passage. Her orgasm hit before he was fully sheathed inside her and caught him by surprise. Her scream of pleasure rocked him to his core. He gathered her in his arms and held her as she ground her pelvis against his. He was panting hard in an effort not to pound into her. He covered her mouth with his in a ravenous kiss as he waited for her orgasm to subside.

He felt her body relaxing after another moment and rolled them over so she was on top.

“Ride me, Kana,” he growled as he shifted her to her knees. She gave a half sob, half sigh as he filled her more fully.  She faltered before she found a rhythm they both found pleasure with. He lifted his hips to thrust up into her with each of her downstrokes. His long solid fingers gripped her thighs until her own fingers reached for them. Their hands connected, fingers entwined while she undulated on him.

The two of them were panting, hanging on the precipice, unable to fall when Sousuke lifted his knees and planted his feet on the mattress. His next thrust up sent her flying apart, causing her to clamp hard on his dick; which sent him over the edge with her. He thrust into her twice more as he pumped his semen inside her, shouting as he came.

She collapsed onto his chest, breathing hard from their exertions. He wrapped his arms around her back and held her tightly; she felt him fall into a doze.

Kaname Chidori lay on her lovers chest in a daze for a short while. Her mind then began to whirl. Before her mother had died Kaname had asked her how she knew her Father was the one. Her mother had smiled and told her of all things her father had done before they were married.

What he had done when they had gotten married. When Kaname mentioned he never told her he loved her her mother smiled that same smile and said, no. He never _said_ he loved her. He showed her instead.

Sousuke was possessive, but he would let her go with her friends when she wanted. He was controlling, but only when it came to her safety. He hadn’t ever tried to make her not be herself; and seemed to be upset if she wasn’t behaving like herself.

Kaname then thought about all the other things he’d been doing for her; how he always walked her to and from school, he would bring home little surprises for her, and stayed with her when she was having a hard time dealing with the nightmares.

He never pushed her to talk about it either; just held her as she cried. Now he’d moved into the apartment next to hers and the decor was so obviously a mix of the two of them.

He called her his. She sighed as she looked at his sleeping face and made a decision. Maybe he didn’t know he loved her, maybe that was the problem. He kept showing her how important she was to him.

So she was going to try to pay attention to his actions; not just his words.


	9. Amalgam gives good gas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new attack from Amalgam causes disturbing action for our friends.

**Chapter 9**

Kaname Chidori stood with the rest of her classmates as the explosion rocked the school. Although her first instinct was to run to the window to see what had caused it she knew Sousuke would have had a fit had she done so. Instead she went into the hall and sat on the floor facing the classroom. Her friends actually followed suit.

“Where is Sousuke?” Mizuki asked quietly as the teachers began directing students into the halls and out of the school. Kaname shrugged her shoulders, too busy running to her locker to get out of the school to answer verbally. Something inside her chest was urging her to move quickly and get away from the school as quickly as she could.

“Kaname!” Ren called and she could only shake her  head and keep moving. Her friends weren’t sure why but they followed her as quickly as they could.

“Split up!! Get as far away from the school as you can!! Don’t go home!” Kaname managed to shout above the noise; the others quickly did as she said knowing she wouldn’t say it unless it was safer for her friends.

Kaname lived the furthest from the school; but she knew taking the train would be a bad idea so she ducked into an alleyway and checked her phone. Sure enough there was a Mithril safe house closer. She made her way there; trying to remember the things Sousuke had taught her about hiding when moving under fire.

She realized she was sweating when she stopped for a moment to get her bearings. Her body was feverish and she could tell her pupils were dilated. Her heart rate was fast; although she couldn’t tell if it was too fast. Part of her mind started focusing on Sousuke; on things she knew she shouldn’t be thinking about with the danger she was in. She forced herself to focus on what she was doing and managed to make it to the safe house. She was relieved there were no other people there; and she quickly activated the beacon in her earrings to let Sousuke know where she was. He was the only one with that frequency; he would be able to find her.

* * *

Melissa Mao, Kurz Weber, Sousuke Sagara and Teletha Testarossa were moving quickly through the downtown area using the alleyways as much as possible. Weber and Sagara alternating on point with Mao keeping the Captain close. They had been on the move for an hour and all four were starting to feel reckless.

“We can’t keep together like this,” Testarossa said finally when they had stopped to get their bearings. Mao and Weber noticed she seemed to be far more breathless than she should, and her eyes were unfocused. Sagara turned his attention to his watch, seeing that he was actually closer to the beacon that Kaname had activated an hour ago. He was having trouble focusing on keeping the Captain safe; he wanted Kaname. This worried him because he could get his team killed; but he needed to be inside her.

Weber grunted his agreement with the Captain, they couldn’t stay together.

“There are three or four safe houses nearby,” he said, although it came out more of a growl.

“Captain,” Sagara barked, his voice also more of a growl. “You go with Sargent Weber; Mao and I can find Kaname,” he had hesitated a second before finishing the statement. He didn’t want Mao near him. Mao overrode him though, before Testarossa could object.

“Good idea, but I’ll head in another direction; see if I can’t get the bastards off her trail all together,” she panted. All three soldiers were fighting something that had them distracted and antsy. Willing to take risks they knew they wouldn’t normally take. They all noticed, however, that their Captain seemed too far gone to make decisions. She kept rubbing her hands over her chest and belly and making soft moans.

“Good, come one Captain,” Weber said as he took her hand and checked the area before leading her out. He knew which house he was going to go to. It was underground and soundproof. Food and water for an entire squad for sixty days. Should be enough time to get whatever had hit them time to get out of their system and enable him to keep her safe. He wasn’t letting those Amalgam bastards take his Captain.

Tessa sighed and followed him; not really seeing him.

Mao and Sagara nodded to one another and parted ways; Sagara moving far more quickly now.

* * *

Melissa Mao found high ground and her personal safe house. The brown haired Sergeant Major checked her equipment. There were no enemies within a five mile radius and that helped her relax. She knew that the others, like herself; had disabled their personal locators to prevent the enemy from having any chance of finding them. They had been hit with some kind of gas; they had no idea what the gas was supposed to do or how long the effects would last. Amalgam had gotten them but good this day. She prayed Weber kept Testarossa safe; as well as keeping himself safe.

* * *

Weber carried his Captain into the underground bunker an hour after they had left the others. She was behaving very strangely. If he didn’t know better he’d think she’d been drinking.

Once he had her inside the bunker he made sure it was locked and sealed tight. All sensors were on passive so they wouldn’t give away that anyone was in the bunker. Kurz ran his hand down his face and then through his blond hair. Now that they were relatively safe he couldn’t focus. He could hear his Captain in the other room, the sounds were very erotic. What was she doing?

“Sargent?” he heard her ask, and he frowned. He’d never heard her sound like that. Other women, sure-but not the Captain. He went cautiously into the bedroom he had put her in and the bottom fell out of his world.

She had removed her uniform and was sitting on her heels on the bed her knees spread wide with her lacy pink panty hanging off her left knee.

Her right hand pumping furiously in her pussy; which was dripping with her juices, and her left hand was under her lacy pink bra squeezing her left breast.

The twenty year old German swallowed hard and threw himself out of the room just as the Captain of the Tuatha de Danann orgasmed. He banged his blond head against the metal wall and groaned as he listened.

‘ _What the hell?_ ’ he thought to himself; before he realized he was stroking his cock now, in time with the sounds of her hand in her cunt. He groaned and tried to stop what he was doing, but couldn’t.

When she called his name, not just Sargent but his name he moved back into the room. She was leaning back on her left elbow now, pumping her hips up to meet her hand as she fucked herself with her fingers. She was mewling as if she were in pain.

“Cap-captain,” he panted. “Pl-please stop,” he begged. She shook her white blond head and opened her pink mouth in an ‘O’ of pleasure as she came again.

“It hurts, Kurz,” she moaned in confusion. Weber wasn’t sure he could keep his hands off her; his cock was hard enough to use as a hammer at this point. He swallowed and asked her what she wanted him to do.

“Fuck me,” she said.

Kurz grunted and was on her, his mouth sealing over hers as he thrust into her virgin pussy; and he knew she was a virgin. He felt her body tense under his as he broke through her hymen, heard her scream from the shock of it through his mouth; but also felt her cunt squeeze his cock over and over as she came on him. He waited until she was finished with that orgasm before moving inside her; taking long and deep strokes to fill her completely. She was so tight it was almost painful for him. He felt her small hands slide under the back of his shirt as he rode her; his own hands were gripping the sides of the bed in a death grip.

“Squeeze my cock again, Captain,” he growled into her ear. “Lemme hear you scream as you fucking cum,” he ordered. He lifted from her enough he could bend forward to clamp his mouth over the round fullness of her pale breast and licked her pink nipple repeatedly. When she started to scream from the pleasure he changed the rhythm of his strokes. Hard, deep and fast he pounded into her virgin pussy with his cock. Where he got the stamina to keep going and not having cum inside her yet he wasn’t sure; but he was going to make her cum again before he did.

He felt her pussy clamp and squeeze him, heard her breath catch in her throat, felt her fingernails dig into his lower back and thrust into her once more; hard and deep. He buried his head in the crook of her neck as he emptied his testicles inside her cunt.

Kurz woke beside Teletha, her curled against his side as she slept. He could feel her breath on his neck, the warmth of her skin against his side and under his arm.

“FUCK!” he shouted in horror as he leapt from the bed. He hit the wall across from the foot of the bed with a loud band and slid down the wall to the floor;  staring at Teletha Testarossa with fear. ‘ _What the fuck have I done?_ ’ he asked himself.

“Sargeant Weber?” the seventeen year old submarine captain said, confusion clear in her voice and on her face. She didn’t, however, attempt to cover herself.

“Captain, Ma’am,” he stammered, trying to figure out how to put his quickly hardening dick back in his pants without her noticing. How had he never noticed how nice her tits were? “I’m so sorry, Ma’am, I-” he took a deep breath when she stood up from the bed and began to walk towards him. Her panties falling to the floor and off her foot; she reached behind herself and unhooked her bra, letting the large round mons free of the confining cloth.

“I believe, Sergeant, I told you to fuck me,” she said, and her voice held a sexuality he’d never associated with her. She was the Tuatha’s Darling. Untouchable.

She reached down and grabbed his hands, pulling him up then pushing him against the wall.

“Cap-captain?” he asked on a high note when her fingers wrapped around his dick and squeezed lightly before she began to stroke him. He banged his head against the metal and made an attempt to stop her hands.

“Oh, I think I like this, Kurz; I think I like this a lot,” she whispered to the sniper before she slowly dropped to her knees in front of him.

The Ladies Man watched in shell shocked wonder as his beautiful white blond haired Captain wrapped her pink lips around the head of his cock. He couldn’t control his reaction as the engorged member jumped inside her mouth. She kept her grey eyes opened and looking up at him as she took all of him into her mouth. He swallowed hard when she moaned with delight as she traced the action backward to the tip again.

“Use your tongue,” he said with clenched teeth as she started bobbing her head in earnest; and his head clanged once more against the metal wall when she did. “Oh, Captain; my captain,” he moaned before clenching his own long fingers into her long silky tresses.

When she pulled his pants and underwear down to his ankles he dutifully stepped out of them before leaning down to grab her by her elbows and stand her up.

“I wasn’t done,” she whined at him breathlessly; his answer was to seal her mouth with a kiss. He moved her back to the bed and removed his shirt while still kissing her. She was clinging to him and trying to figure out how to get him inside her again when he shoved her back onto the bed. She landed with a surprised yelp, legs spread wide and arms gripping the covers.

“My turn,” he said before he held her thighs wide open, allowing him to see her entire pussy in it’s pink and white glory. Her gasp of surprised pleasure when he began to kiss and suck her clit drove him on. He made himself remember everything he had ever learned about pleasuring a woman as he ate her pussy. When her quim was quivering on the edge of release he backed off and began to lick her legs.

“Kurz!” she shouted and tried to force his mouth back to her pussy, but he was more powerful than her and refused to be moved. He took his time as he played with her legs, then turned her onto her stomach.

“Ahh,” he said with satisfaction as he began to massage the globes of her heart shaped ass. She had no idea what he was doing when he lifted her hips and spread her knees further apart. She hoped he was going to fuck her now, she needed him to fuck her. She was telling him this when his tongue slid deep inside her cunt and the fingers of his right hand began to pinch and roll her clit between them.

Once again he teased her pussy to the brink of orgasm, her legs were slick with her cream. He rubbed soothingly on her ass as he waited for her body to relax.

“Shh, Teletha, hush,” he said gently into her ear when he heard her whimpering with the need for release. “I’m not going to leave you like this,” he said before he laid down on his back and pulled her on top of him, his heavy cock smacking her against the lips when he once again began to fuck her delicate cunt with his tongue.

She didn’t hesitate to swallow his entire dick. She used the fingers of her right hand to begin to massage his balls and she sighed in pleasure when she felt him growing even larger in her mouth. He grunted his approval into her weeping pussy and she followed his example with her own tongue.

She lost her rhythm when his fingers slipped inside her passage and pressed on her pleasure spot from inside. She screamed around her soldier’s dick as she came from the suddenness of it.

She heard him laughing with sensuous pride as he moved so he was behind her again; her ass tilted up and her waist lower.

“Oh, Tessa, this pussy,” he groaned seconds before he slammed painfully into her. “Relax, Teletha, open up for me,” he said. His right hand went to her clit again, teasing the nubbin until she was hot and panting again.

This time as he rode her he asked her how she wanted him to fuck her. Not changing his movements until she answered him. When she found the stroke she liked she managed to say so as she began to cum again.

She didn’t hear everything he said as she came for him. She only knew she needed more. He changed the angle he was fucking her from, riding her higher from behind; and now the head of his dick was stroking her g-spot constantly.

“Now, now, nownownownownownow,” she was demanding nonstop as she thrust backward against him. He shouted incoherently as he reached around her body and cupped her left breast with his left hand. Her warbling scream followed as she came from the feeling of his hot semen spurting inside her womb.

This time when they collapsed they slept the night through.

* * *

**In Kowon**

“What do you mean you lost her?” the voice was gruff and a sound of flesh hitting flesh could be heard immediately following the barked question. The man on the radio was grateful he wasn’t close enough for his commanding officer to do more than scream at him.

“Apparently Ms Chidori managed to get out of the school before the device was completely opened,” he said with as much ice as he could. “We aren’t sure when exactly she left; but she didn’t get hit with enough of the gas to be effected immediately,” he finished. He knew better than to offer any other information, especially as it would be mostly conjecture.

Mr K slammed the phone down onto it’s handset and drew his Glock 10m and shot the aide through the right knee, then the left shoulder and finally through the throat.

“Damnit!!” he shouted when he saw there was no one else in the room for him to take his anger out on. That brat Testarossa wanted the girl for himself; of course he didn’t say he wanted her _first_ , just for himself. He had to admit, the little bitch was hot.

He picked up phone again and punched a line, shouting into the receiver when the line was picked up.

“Find that Chidori bitch! Bring her here!” Once more he slammed the phone down. No way was he going to go to HQ without the raven haired pussy.

“Mr K; sir,” a soft voice said as the door to his office opened. A young girl of perhaps nineteen stood there with a clipboard in her hand. He narrowed his eyes at her before answering.

“Report!” She kept her eyes on the middle distance in front of her as she took the required three steps into the office and let the door shut as she began giving her report.

“The gas in the downtown area has finally begun to dissipate, Sir. It has had a one hundred percent effectiveness on all persons between the ages of sixteen and forty in the area,” she pulled a few sheets from the clipboard and held them out, waiting patiently for him to respond and take the paper.

“Put it on the desk,” he ordered as he turned his back to her. He didn’t see her narrow her eyes at his back but she complied quickly with the order, moving just as swiftly back to her original position, still waiting for him to respond.

“Well, what about Jindai?” he demanded after a tense moment.

“Again, the gas seems to have dissipated, and all those caught within the gas are affected, one hundred percent. However,” she said and paused when his head snapped to her.

“Yes?” he asked sibilantly.

“However, Sir; anyone not caught in the full area, but on the fringes, were also affected,” she said. He smiled at her.

“Is there more?” he asked her. She said not at this time; and managed to hold back a look of terror when he undid his pants and ordered her on her knees in front of him.

* * *

**Three days later**

Kaname moaned softly as she came awake, again with Sousuke inside her. Her body was sore, she felt as if she couldn’t take any more pleasure; but when his tongue traced lines across her shoulder blades she flexed on his penis.

“Sousuke?” She moaned his name, his response was a soft grunt. “Why can’t we stop?” she asked him in between grunts of pleasure as he pleasured her from the side. His forehead was pressed against the base of her neck as he moved inside her.

“I do not know,” he admitted after they came again. Neither could move and both were feeling lethargic.

“We need to eat,” she said softly, her body begging for sleep, food and sex all at the same time. “I am going to get ill if I don’t eat and drink something soon, Sousuke,” she said tearfully. Already his body was getting hard; she couldn’t do it again.  

Sousuke, felt the need to have sex with her again recede some. She was obviously hurting and she was right. They hadn’t eaten or drank anything in three days. His need to protect her suddenly kicked back in. He could feel the need to have sex with her still there; but it wasn’t as desperate a need.

“Affirmative, Kana-chan. I will get us food and drink,” he said. Kaname turned to look at him, hope filling her eyes.

“You don’t want to have sex?” she asked hopefully.

“It’s not that, Kana,” he said to her. He was uncharacteristically candid with her. “I need to take care of you; protect you,” he said to her.

“It seems that my need to protect you is more, important? than my need to have sex with you,” he finished. She nodded her understanding.

“I don’t care why, I’m just glad,” she said. Now he could hear how hoarse her voice was, he could even see bruises on her body. He closed his eyes and cursed under his breath. _He_ had done that to her. The last of the need to have sex with seemed to fade completely.

He leaned over her and kissed her gently.

“I’m sorry, Kana-mine,” there was a note of true regret in his voice and Kaname shook her head as she cupped his face in her hand.

“I am not angry, Sagara,” she said softly. “We were both unable to stop,” she said. He watched as she fell asleep while talking to him. He cursed himself again. He should have had more control; hurting her is unexcusable for any reason.

He made his way into the kitchen of the safe house and frowned as he did. This place felt wrong; although it was safe it wasn’t their home. He stopped and stared blankly at the refridgerator blindly for a long moment as that thought struck him.

His apartment had become _their_ home. She rarely spent any time in her apartment, even when she was entertaining friends; it was in his apartment. Even Junior spent all his time in the apartment Sousuke had taken.

A warmth spread through his chest, something he had forgotten from long ago. He blinked when he felt a warm wetness on his cheeks. Tears? He wiped his face and shook his head; and although the warmth in his chest didn’t fade away he was back in control of himself. He made quick work of getting food ready for himself and Kaname.

* * *

 

Melissa woke slowly and groaned. She felt as if she had a hangover, when she knew she hadn’t been drinking. Her body also felt as if she had been run over with an M5. Movement was painful, but she managed to get herself off the floor.

The look and smell of the apartment shocked her. It looked like an orgy had taken place; yet she was alone in the apartment. She quickly checked her equipment, and sighed in relief. There had been no intrusions while she was out.

The twentysix year old dark haired woman shook in shock when she saw herself in the bathroom mirror. For the first time since she left home she felt ashamed of her appearance. As if she had been the star of some porn show.

Slowly the memories started to return; and the proud Marine sank to her knees in front of the mirror as she cried.

She jumped to her feet reaching for a gun she didn’t have when she heard a gentle knock on the open bathroom door. Standing there was her friend Belfangan. She sank back onto the floor, burying her head in her arms on her knees.

“Mel,” he said softly as he stepped into the room. She lifted a hand as if to say stop, but he ignored her. “We didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. She could hear the gruffness in his voice that three days of sex had put there.

“Why didn’t you leave?” she demanded, still not looking at him until he laughed.

“Mel, I have no clothes,” he answered, and the humor of the situation; slight though it was, struck her. He had always been a handsome man.

“I never-” she started to say when he shook his head and put his finger on her lips.

“Neither would I, but I don’t think we had a choice in the matter,” he said to his friend. She took a deep breath and thought about it all. Then it hit her that she had sent Teletha off with Weber and for just an instant she saw red and wanted to shoot her friend the Captain.

“We need to regroup, find out what’s been happening,” She said; suddenly back to her military self. She caught the dark skinned man grinning when she stood up and smacked him on the head.

“Forget it, bastard! You’ve had all you’re gonna get,” she said angrily; although she was smiling as she said it. He laughed and rose to follow her back into the bedroom. They both kept silent as they quickly cleaned the entire apartment after finding uniforms to wear. A silent agreement to never speak of the last three days.

“Ben, you’ll have to find the X-O Mardukas, he would have been on the Tuatha when the attack came, so hopefully he’d have been unaffected by the gas,” she said as she grabbed up her weapons. He nodded and hesitated for just a second before he saluted and left. Mao allowed herself on moment of reflection before she grabbed her cellphone and left the apartment.

* * *

Kurz Weber stretched out contentedly as he began to wake. He wondered, briefly, why Mao hadn’t woken him with the usual boot to the side already, but mentally shrugged the thought off. If she was letting him sleep in all the better. He’d just make sure she slept in tomorrow. Maybe he’d fix her breakfast as a thank you as well.

He frowned when he felt a warm, soft body snuggling closer to his. Now, Kurz knew he dreamt of having Melissa in his bed; but he was fairly certain she wasn’t quite that well padded, or that soft.

Then he remembered what he had done before he fell asleep not so long ago. Eating out his captain’s pussy; for God only knew what count at that point. When that thought triggered yet another hard cock, he groaned. Oh, the thought of her very talented pussy milking his cock was nice, and although he had enjoyed the taste of her; he was really very sore.

“Mmmm, Kurz? Is that for me?” she mumbled sleepily as she wrapped her fingers around his dick and squeezed; exactly as he liked. His eyes swam from the pleasure when she shifted so she was lying atop him, legs around his head and mouth firm around his dick.

“What the hell,” he muttered to himself and lost himself in the taste of her yet again.

Teletha thought they had done everything in bed that could be done; until he shifted her so she was riding him and still facing the foot of the bed. For the first time she noticed a mirror on the wall. It was only big enough to show her from the waist up, but she was fascinated by the way her breasts bounced as she rode the Sargent.

The seventeen year old shifted so she was more on her knees; which took him deeper inside her. She liked that, but still watching herself as she fucked the blond man was hotter than she would have thought possible. She began to experiment with different speeds and strokes; until she felt him grab her hips.

“Bitch,” he growled as he pulled her off and threw her onto her back; holding her legs far apart as he thrust into her pussy.

“Aah!” she shouted and grabbed the side of the bed as she was pumped into.

“Come on, Tesa, touch your clit,” he ordered, she shook her head no, she tried to squeeze him hard; make him cum inside her first. He pulled out of her, pulling her off the bed and onto her knees. She opened her pink lips, licking them with her tongue in anticipation of swallowing his cock again; but instead he bent her over the side of the bed. Stretching her arms so they were holding the other side of the bed he tied them together with her tie, then used a rope that had been under the bed to tie the scarf to the bed.

“Fine, I’ll do it for you,” he said darkly. “You’re gonna scream for me again, Tele,” then his hands were in her pussy; one on her clit roughly pinching and rolling the nub while the other was pumping fingers inside her very wet cunt.

The girl tried to fight the orgasm, but couldn’t and he grunted with satisfaction as her pussy squeezed his fingers while she screamed his name.

Weber wasted no time waiting for her orgasm to end; he placed himself at her entrance and grabbed her hips.

“Scream again, Tele,” he ordered as he began pounding her pussy hard. “Beg,” he demanded; and she did.

Kurz Weber came deep inside the girl underneath him; the satisfaction of it; of controlling her pleasure making him growl. The young girl whimpered her own pleasure into the mattress before he untied her.

“Uuunh, I can’t take anymore, Kurz,” she moaned against his throat seconds later as he was once more thrusting into her. They were both panting with pain, pleasure and exhaustion minutes later as he kept moving.

“OOOoooooo, Kurz!” She exclaimed, although it wasn’t very loud. Her body reacted quickly to the stimulus of the pressure of his dick inside her and his pelvis brushing against her clit. This orgasm was deeper than the last one. He sealed her mouth with his when she began to moan more, swallowing the sound. He felt his balls clench with his next orgasm, although it was a dry one. The pain was nearly his undoing.

Half an hour passed as the two of them lie in one another’s arms, dozing. Kurz felt her stir against his side and groaned at the thought of fucking her again.

“Mr. Weber,” she said hoarsely, and he looked blearily at her.

“Yes Ma’am?” he replied just as hoarsely.

“Is there anything to eat?” she asked shyly. He breathed out in relief and nodded.

“If-if you want, Captain,” he swallowed nervously. “There is a shower across the hall; extra uniforms are in the lockers,” he told her, averting his eyes as she stood up.

“Thank you Sergeant,” she said softly and he was grateful she didn't’ say anything else. He wasn’t sure what happened, why they both felt like they had had to fuck like hamsters; but he knew he could get into a lot of trouble for it.

Weber made quick work of taking a shower in another room and dressing, finishing before she did. He made his way to the central kitchen of the bunker and started making food for himself and the Captain. He also wracked his brain trying to figure out how to talk about what happened; he was also grateful that he didn’t feel the need to keep fucking her.

She wasn’t Melissa, after all.

* * *

“Police and other officials are still unsure how to deal with the mass orgies that took place over the last three days at the airport, downtown shopping district as well as at Jindai High”

Melissa Mao blinked in shock at the news report on the television inside the coffee shop she had stopped in just one hour ago. No real information has been found on what caused the incidents. There was a ‘rumor’ about flash mobs or some sort of gas leak and although Mao knew the truth she also knew the government would keep the gas attack under wraps.

The Sergeant Major once more checked her phone and let out a sound of relief when Sagara’s beacon came back on, quickly followed by Kaname’s. She called up the seventeen year old Sergeant to check on him and their charge. She was unsurprised that the boy didn’t mention what had to have happened between them. Besides him being an extremely private man, Kaname was also a very private girl. Their feelings for each other were clear to all who cared to pay attention; but they didn’t go out of their way to announce their relationship.

“Sergeant Major, I am unsure if it is safe enough to leave this safe house as of yet,” he told her. Melissa wanted to argue; but as she was watching the street outside she saw what had to be either secret service men or Amalgam soldiers.

“I agree, keep your head down and beacons off,” she ordered quietly then disconnected. She made sure she wasn’t seen by the men in the suits as she left the shop. Her phone rang, and she answered it as if she were expecting the call; confusing the communications specialist on the other end.

* * *

* * *

Gates stood outside the Jindai High School wearing a gas mask; although air tests showed there was no longer any gas in the area. It had been three days since the release of the gas and Amalgam’s researchers were ecstatic with the results; although they couldn’t be sure of the full results until there were pregnancies reported from this incident. Gates wanted to be very sure he wasn’t going to get dosed himself.

Watching all the teenagers and adults wearily fucking after three days of nothing but was a joy to him, however. He could see many of them were now trying to find food and water in an effort to survive; and he made sure his people put it near them. None of them could really be sure they weren’t seeing rescue teams trying to help them, even though no one attempted to prevent them from copulating.

One young girl with blond hair was sobbing as an older man steadily fucked her; he himself was grunting in pain.

“So wonderful to see such abandon, don’t you think Corporal?” he said to the girl beside him. She didn’t respond and he back handed her across the mouth.

“ _So wonderful to see such abandon, don’t you think Corporal_?” he asked her again; this time she answered in the affirmative. He nodded happily.

“How much longer will the effects last?” he asked her.

“It is estimated another three days, Sir,” she lisped.

“Estimated?” he said. She nodded.

“Should everyone in the area get food and water the researchers say they will rest for the rest of the day; if the women have conceived they will still have sex; but they will most likely change partners,” the older terrorists chuckled gleefully at the thought.

“All these self righteous fuckers doing what they claim they’d never do!” he laughed before humming part of Beethoven's Fleur de Lis. They walked through the suburban neighborhood next, and he laughed heartily at the sights that they saw. One woman; clearly someone’s mother, riding a man in the front lawn of a home.

The Corporal walked beside the commander of her cell with trepidation. She knew it was only a matter of time before he decided he wanted his own pleasure; and his twins weren’t here for him to abuse.

“Tell me, Corporal; how far out did the fringes of the gas get?”

“We are coming on the line of demarcation now sir, just on the other side of those barricades,” she answered.

“You’ve been without the mask the entire time we’ve been here, Corporal, anything you’d like me to do to you?” he asked saliciously.

“No, Sir; there are no more effects from the gas,” She answered truthfully; although she knew it wouldn’t matter to the pervert. She was unsurprised when he threw her against one of the vehicles in the road and raised her uniform skirt to thrust his penis into her ass. The Corporal knew to pretend to resist; just enough to let him feel as if he were overpowering her. Make enough noise to make him think she was begging for help.

She wasn’t expecting the four other men who showed up just as Mr K finished with her. He laughed as they all took turns fucking her pussy while he held her in front of him.

“Now that I know what you’re really like when you’re fighting, cunt, I’ll expect a better ride,” he whispered into her ear before once more fucking her ass when the men were all passed out from exhaustion.

* * *

**The Bunker**

Silence reigned in the kitchen while the two Mithril agents ate breakfast. Neither knew what time it was but breakfast had seemed the appropriate meal after almost thirty-six hours of sex. Weber kept his eyes on his plate and made sure he always had food or liquid in his mouth so he wouldn’t be tempted to speak. Teletha Testarossa’s skin seemed to be stained pink; either from her shower or from embarrassment.

“Sergeant,” the teen Captain said softly. She watched from under her lashes as he carefully swallowed the food he’d been eating before responding.

“Is there anyway we can get some sort of report on what is happening without giving away our position?” she asked him. Weber frowned at the young girl for a moment before answering.

“Captain, have a full set up here in this bunker,” he told her; as if reminding her. When her silver eyes widened as if she were surprised or confused his frown deepened.

“Tessa, you do know this is a Mithril bunker; right?” he asked her. She shook her head no. “Captain, the order came from the Tuatha, long before KRD took over,” he told her. She started to bite her lower lip.

“Who gave the order?” she asked.

“Lieutenant Commander Kalinin,” he answered, as if this were to be expected. She looked down and sighed; although she said nothing else for several moments. Weber finished his food and waited for her to finish eating before clearing the table.

“I should help,” she started to say when he quickly interrupted her.

“No, Captain, I got this,” he said as he washed the breakfast dishes as well as the pots and pans he’d used to cook. She sat at the table watching him and frowning. Her mind was racing as she tried to figure out what exactly happened; why she had felt the need to have sex with the blond man. She understood that he was handsome, she heard the other women on the sub talking about him; she also understood that his nickname _The Ladies Man_ was actually well deserved.

Yet she herself wasn’t physically attracted to him; was she? As she watched him she catalogued his features and realized that yes, she was physically attracted to him; but she also knew that Melissa harbored some feelings for the young man as well. What they had done was a betrayal of her friendship as well as a betrayal of her oath as Captain of the Tuatha.

“Sergeant Weber,” she called, and he was immediately worried about the seriousness of her tone.

“Just one second, Ma’am,” he answered as he dried the last of the dishes and put them away. One thing a career as a mercenary for hire taught you how to keep things neat. He put the towel on the sink to dry and walked back to the table. He didn’t stand at attention; that he felt would insult her at this point; but he did stay standing until she asked him to sit.

“Sergeant,” she started then stopped and blushed while looking away from him.

“Ma’am...Tesa,” he said, getting her attention. “I apologize for any inappropriate behavior; but I think that’s what the gas’ effect was supposed to be,” he said then frowned and stammered nervously. “Not that you aren’t; um, well …” she giggled when he couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Actually, Sergeant, I should be apologizing to you. I’m your commanding officer and shouldn’t have taken advantage of you like that,” she said, swallowing the embarrassment since he had managed to do so.

“Ma’am, neither one of us had a choice,” he said matter of factly. “If I’d had a choice, Ma’am, I would have locked the door and put in earplugs,” he tried to keep it from sounding cruel; but it was the truth.

“Because of Melissa?” she asked him quietly, and he just nodded. She sighed and then yawned; suddenly very tired.

“I second that, Captain Tesa; let’s get some sleep,” he said with a grin. She smiled and nodded. They went to seperate rooms and both locked the doors; although neither realized they had done so.

Teletha Testarossa wanted to be happy that Sergeant Weber felt the same about Melissa as she felt about him; but she was found she was hurt. Sergeant Sousuke Sagara was clearly in love with her friend Kaname and now, the first man she has sex with - even if it had been because of some sort of biological attack - wasn’t interested in her either. Perhaps if she dyed her hair black? This was her last thought before she fell asleep.

* * *

**Tuatha de Danann**

Executive officer Richard Mardukas paced the bridge of the cloaked submarine angrily. No one dared speak when it wasn’t necessary, they knew he wouldn’t do them physical harm; but they didn’t want to hear him yelling. He was beyond worried about the Captain.

They all wanted to know what had happened; the reports they were able to get were both frightening and confusing. The samples they were able to get of the gas before it completely dissipated said that their captain, as well as anyone of breeding age within the affected areas were going to be attempting to do just that - breed. Being unable to determine how much exposure to the gas would cause the effect had them all worried.

What they were seeing was showing that those affected were now trying to find sustenance and sleeping; but there was no way to know if this was the end of it. The XO had made it clear he didn’t think it was; so the entire team was on yellow alert.

“Sergeant Major Mao?” Bosco, one of the communication techs was heard saying in confusion.

“On speaker!” Mardukas ordered brusquely.

“Hey dad!” Mao’s voice said brightly.

“Report, Sergeant Major!” Mardukas ordered.

“Well, I’m just a few miles away, but I’m okay dad. So’s Ben,” she laughed lightly then said excuse me away from the phone.

“Clouseau found you? Were you affected?”

“Well, yeah dad, but everything’s okay. Ben said he’d make it out to your place in a little while to let you know everything we know,” they could hear people talking around her.

“Where’s Captain Testarossa?” Mardukas barked impatiently. He understood her tactic, but was impatient with the need.

“She’s with Kurz, pops. Chill,” she said with humor; although they could all hear it was forced. “He’s watching out for sis,” even Marukas could hear the hurt in her voice; although he wouldn’t comment on it anymore than anyone else.

“Get to the rendezvous, immediately,” he ordered instead. She was Teletha’s friend; he would make sure she was okay before he sent her out looking for the Captain.

“Geeze, dad! I can’t do that right now, I need to get to work,” she said to the XO. “There are all these suits running about, and I don’t want to lose my chance on a good lead,” she heard him grunt and smiled.

“No, get to the rendezvous. It’s too dangerous when you’re alone, that’s an order; Sergeant Major.”

There was silence from the Marine for a long moment before she acknowledged the order and disconnected. Mardukas barked out orders for an extraction for her and Clouseau and gave the bridge to the second mate.

The older man made it into the conference room before losing his cool. He knew, intellectually, that there had been no way for anyone to know that the attack was coming, much less what the effects were going to be. That didn’t stop him from wanting to tear Sergeant Weber to pieces, however. He knew the young man’s reputation was mostly exaggeration. He was far more respectful than anyone actually gave him credit for; even his commanding officer.

Still; he pulled out his cellphone and dialed Mao’s number for himself.

“Yes, dad?” she asked quietly.

“You know I have to get you checked out, and you didn’t mention Sagara and Chidori-so don’t give me any trouble,” he said softly. He heard her sigh in defeat.

“Dad, I know you’re worried about sis, but Weber will take care of her - no matter what,” she said.

“I know he’d give his life for her, Mao. But can you tell me he’d be able to fight what this gas did?” he asked her bluntly. He gasp and silence answered his question.

“I want you and Clouseau here asap so we can check you out; find out what the gas did to you, if we can,” he said.

“Okay, okay, dad. I get it,” she groused and he smiled, though no one would have believed it. He truly did care about his crew.

“Good, what do you know of Sagara and Chidori?”

“Well, they managed to find a way to be alone,” she answered as she got into a taxi. She gave a destination and then continued her conversation.

“Sousuke said they were gonna hang out for a little while longer, worried about her breathing; ya know?” she answered.

“Good, with Amalgam on site I don’t want anyone giving them a chance at Chidori,” he approved and then disconnected the call. A year ago protocol would have been to contact Mallory first thing; but now he contacted a man named Yama. The exchange was brief but not heartening. Whatever hope he had that his Captain wouldn’t end up pregnant slimmed to practically nothing. Apparently she had Weber had been caught in the gas at it’s strongest. It was a testament to their training that they were able to hold off until they reached a safe house.

It also looked like full exposure would mean at least another three days of copulation. He made a call to Merida; they were going to need counselors for the team. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so very sorry for taking so long to update, I prostrate myself before you in hopes of gaining your forgiveness. My health has kept me from writing but I have managed to get two chapters written and will have the other posted soon

**Chapter 10**

Sergeant Major Melissa Mao strode  through the hanger seconds after the helo landed heading straight for the X-O’s office. Ben grabbed her arm to slow her down, she frowned as she looked at him to see him pointing to the side. 

“Commander!” They both said with sharp salutes. He returned the salute and motioned for several people to come forward. 

“These Doctors are from KRD,” he said with a soft growl. Mardukas wasn’t happy with the group sending in more people to take over his ship. “You will comply with their evaluations and then report to me,” he ordered. Mao and Clouseau nodded and went with the KRD doctors. 

Mardukas shook his head as the KRD representative Kayla stepped forward from the shadows; she wasn’t smiling at him - a small comfort for him since it meant she understood how seriously he was taking the whole situation.

“Commander Mardukas, I appreciate your working with us despite your misgivings,” she said sincerely. 

“Your people proved they had a better handle on the situation than we did,” he begrudgingly answered. “Do you have any information on the leaks Deathrax was speaking about?” he asked her, not really expecting an answer.

“That will actually depend on what Sgt. Major Mao has to say when you debrief her,” Kayla told him. He looked at her sharply. 

“Meaning?” he asked.

“Meaning that so far it’s been inconclusive,” she sighed and handed him a tablet. He quickly went through the information that was presented and sighed himself in response.

“There has to be another explanation,” he insisted and she shrugged. 

“I certainly hope so,” she replied as she took the device back. “I will hate having to break that to Captain Testarossa,” she admitted. Mardukas was left speechless as she walked away. She meant that, she would be telling the Captain and not leaving it up to someone else. Then he closed his eyes and mumbled curses to himself. They had to be wrong.

Melissa was more than angry; these medics weren’t allowing her to drink anything more than water and wouldn’t let her have a cigarette. She was also hungry and they seemed to be ignoring her grumbling stomach.

“Sgt Major, please stop fidgeting,” A tall blond man with an olive complexion said to her with humor. “You’ve only been in here for ten minutes.” She narrowed her chocolate brown eyes at the man with rancor.

“And you are?” she demanded. 

“Yama,” he answered, unruffled by her derision. “So far it looks like the drug is mostly out of your system,” he informed her. 

“Since I no longer feel the  _ need _ to have sex,” she started to say with venom, but he interrupted her.

“I said  _ mostly _ ,” he repeated and that stopped her rant. “That means that you’re not leaving the ship until we figure out a way to neutralize it,” he told her. When she opened her mouth he continued as if he hadn’t seen it.

“We aren’t sure what exactly AMALGAM is looking for or why they worked so hard to put this particular drug into weapons grade gas form,” he informed her reasonably. She snapped her mouth closed and listened to him, albeit she was highly reluctant to let her complaint go.

“We can’t be sure they won’t find a way to use it against you,” he let her think about that for a moment and when her eyes widened slightly at the first thought that came to mind he nodded. 

“Testarossa and Chidori’s safety has to come first,” he told her and she nodded her agreement. “Now that you understand the gravity of the situation, please stop fighting us,” he repeated, and this time she grudgingly agreed.

“Will someone please get the Sergeant something to eat, her stomach is growling loudly enough to drown out the sound of the choppers,” he then shouted to the medical crew, giving her a wink as he turned away. 

The tall blond man walked to where Clouseau was being examined and took a quick look at the reports. He frowned then looked up at the dark skinned African mercenary.

“You have no traces of the drug in you,” he said; and although he didn’t say it loudly the major slashed his hand sharply to make him speak even more softly. “Explain?”

“Captain Testarossa called me in as back up three days ago,” he said. “She wouldn’t tell me why but she wanted me shadowing their movements through Japan as they searched for Kailnin,” he began to frown as he gave the report; which he knew he would have to repeat to Mardukas in private since Mao wasn’t supposed to know about his involvement.

“Go on.” 

“I got just as suspicious as the Captain when I began getting the exact same reports, and I was utilizing different resources,” he explained before Yama could interrupt.

“I had just gotten to the safe house when I heard the explosion; Testarossa was only able to send a brief message and it was garbled. I opted to stay put,” he said. 

“The gas didn’t hit your safe house,” Yama concluded and Ben nodded. “The four of them weren’t that far from the safe house when they split up; which was the best decision they could have made,” he went on earnestly. 

“Explain.”

“Mao was so out of it she didn’t even  _ see _ me in the safe house. She  _ spoke _ as if she were checking the defenses; but in reality she was standing in front of the only window - masturbating with her gun,” he shivered at the memory. 

“I grabbed her and got the gun away from her and she literally shredded my clothes,” he narrowed his eyes at the older man for a brief second. “She can’t know,” he said softly. “She can’t,” Yama narrowed his own eyes at the Major. “You don’t know her,” he insisted. “If she knew she was that out of control,” Ben shook his head insistently. 

“It would destroy her,” he said to the blond. Yama sighed as he thought about what the major was telling him. 

“She deserves to know,” he started to say. Again, Ben shook his head. 

“She would call it rape,” Ben insisted. “And what happened wouldn’t have if I hadn’t let it,” he said. “I am quite capable of subduing a woman who is out of her mind and control,” he told the KRD representative. “I had a chance to be with her,” he said. He stopped there, and Yama nodded his understanding. 

“Very well,” Yama said. He noticed the medical personnel nodding their approval. He mentally rolled his eyes; but they were trained to understand the psychological as well as physiological needs of the Tuatha’s crew. 

“Make your report to Mardukas,” Yama said. “You want us to keep it quiet, you won’t be leaving the ship anytime soon,” he told the mercenary. 

“Take the time to help your friend as best you can,” he looked back at the dark haired woman who was currently devouring an extremely large cheeseburger. “There is a good chance she will test positive for pregnancy in the next few weeks,” Yama told the man.   

“What?”

“There is  _  a small _ chance,” one of the doctors said as he finished disconnecting him from the monitors. “The gas was heavy on fertility inducing chemicals,” the man said. Ben frowned as he thought about it then shuddered. 

“Now there is a good chance that since you weren’t dosed with the gas she won’t be pregnant; but we have to be sure,” the doctor said before walking away. Ben thought about what that would mean to his friend and visibly deflated. 

“You’ll be there for her?” Yama asked. Ben nodded once sharply before pulling his shirt back on and heading out the medbay. 

 

Andrey Kalinin cursed under his breath as he watched Leonard Testarossa and his personal arm slaves get off the helicopter. He disliked the young man so much more every time he dealt with him. Teletha was harder to manipulate, yes; but she was more pleasant to deal with. Leonard Testarossa’s ego made being around him a trial. 

“Andrey,” the young man sneered as he entered the penthouse room of the Omni Tokyo. The old commander simply continued to look out over the city from his spot by the window. 

“Commander,” the younger man said with that same sneer. Still, Kalinin didn’t answer. The boy had fouled up the whole project with his rash decision to use the gas the way he did. Decades of research and planning made pointless due to this boy’s impatience.

“Sir?” the boy said after several more minutes had passed; this time with respect in his tone. Still the gray haired man waited. The boy thought his placement as the one in charge of AMALGAM meant he was far more important than he was. 

The boy was  _ not _ in competition with his sister, despite what he thought. This latest foo-fa-reaux proved he’d never match his sister’s wit. 

“Commander Kalinin, Sir!” the boy finally said with actual respect, so Kalinin turned to look sideways at the boy. 

“Explain, please, your decision to ‘ _ test _ ’ the gas as you did,” the older man requested; and although his tone was pleasant it was clear he was very angry. 

“I saw a chance to get both Teletha and Kaname; to put them to good use, finally.” 

Andrey closed his eyes and his jaw flexed. 

“I believe,” he said to the seventeen year old psychotic Whispered. “That we had a plan in place to retrieve Chidori shortly.” Leonard’s silver eyes flashed with rage. 

“She is becoming attached to Sagara; and you promised her to me,” the boy snarled. Kalinin simply looked at him, forcing the boy to back down. 

“I have my reasons for allowing it, Leonard,” he said; although he gave no further explanation. “Forcing her to breed without supervision was never part of the plan,” the Commander snapped; and this time Testarossa flinched. 

“My men were supposed to be in place to retrieve her,” he grudgingly admitted. “They did not anticipate her managing to escape the gas’ radius,” Kalinin snorted. 

“Clearly.” The boy’s pale skin enhanced the glow of his embarrassment. “Had you stuck with the plan,” he went on. “She would actually be in your grasp and in your bed,” he shook his head turned away from the child. His right hand had been in his pocket the whole conversation; now he flexed his fingers and there was a very soft click and whir. 

Leonard Testarossa was quite surprised when his personal arm slaves grabbed his arms and took the gun he had drawn from him.

“Now, however, I will simply put you to other uses,” Kailnin sighed as he turned back to the boy. The young man’s eyes widened in terror when the older man picked up a syringe. 

“Hey, Otaku boy! You still with the secretary?” Urzu Two said into his cell phone. He looked young enough to still be in high school; although he was actually in his thirties.

“Do not call me Otaku boy; yes,” Sousuke said in reply. He smiled when he heard Kaname’s laugh. He knew she had been the one to start the nickname for him; he had to admit that it had helped improve his cover. He turned to check she was ready to depart, and nodded in satisfaction. She was wearing a pair of loose fitting jeans, boyfriend jeans  he thought they were called. Then he realized they were actually a pair of  _ his _ jeans; he sighed at the thought of what she would do to them. The blouse she was wearing was clearly hers; however, and  he nodded in satisfaction when he saw she was wearing the faux combat boots he had bought her a few weeks past. They weren’t actually capable of holding any weapons, as his were, but they would keep her ankles safe and also had steel toes for durability. 

“Yes, Zutu,” he replied to the squad leader on the other end. “We’ll be at the coffee shop in ten,” he said. He didn’t try to alter his own speech patterns as he knew anyone listening would find that odd. He was known among AMALGAM as being very militant, so he didn’t bother trying to pretend he wasn’t. Kaname smiled cheekily at him as she slid next to him and spoke into the phone.

“Keep your shorts on, Zutu...sheesh,” she gave a light laugh as she hit end on the touchscreen. Sousuke caught her mouth open when he captured it for a kiss. She sighed as she leaned into him as she returned it. 

“I should call Junior,” she said suddenly, briefly confusing him.

“Yes, hopefully he hasn’t had any trouble,” Sousuke agreed. 

‘ _ Hi, this is Chidori! Sorry I can’t answer right now but the homework has really piled up, _ ’ Kaname rolled her eyes at the sound of her own voice coming from her old fashioned answering machine. It was the one thing she had indulged her father in. He didn’t actually trust Caller ID on phones. Since he worked in security she guessed she couldn’t blame him.

“Hey, Junior, pick up!” she called. There was a click on the other end and a very relieved sounding AI answered.

“Mot-ma-Kaname?” he stuttered and Kaname frowned. He almost called her mother. “Is everything alright?” he asked hurriedly. Then in a rush and clearly not in a machine’s tone. “I was frightened when you and fat-Ser-Sousuke didn’t come home after school, or for the last three days; please say you’re okay!” Kaname’s heart seemed to stutter in concern. He was truly frightened. He was a machine, she herself had built him, but he was really afraid.

“Yes, Junior, we’re okay,” she said reassuringly. “Are  _ you _ okay?” she asked him; making sure he could hear her concern.

“I would be better if I could see you and fat-Sousuke,” he said. His voice sounded so small; like that of a child. She thought furiously, how could she get him to her and Sosuke without giving away their plans.

“Junior, do you remember where the Summer Court is?” she asked him. Sousuke; who had already been frowning while listening to her end of the conversation, snapped his face towards her sharply. She shook her head and held up a finger. He snorted, but waited.

“Yes, I remember,” came the hesitant reply.

“Meet us there in thirty minutes, okay?” She waited for what seemed like an hour before the small Arbalest answered. 

“Yes, moth-Kaname. In thirty minutes.” it said, then hung up the phone. Kaname quickly explained to Sousuke why she had done that. He too was concerned at the turn of events with the machine; he also knew she would sleep better aboard the Tuatha with the miniature Arbalest on board as well.

Kurz Weber woke with a start, drawing his weapon while he rolled behind the cot, pulling it up as a shield. When he was satisfied there were no enemies in the room, he took stock. Then he remembered what had woken him. A thought that rang through his dream like a death knell.

They weren’t safe in this bunker. So far neither of them had used the radio and both had turned off their cell phones; but he just knew they weren’t safe here and he needed to get her out. 

To that end Weber took stock of what clothes were available and grunted in disgust. He couldn’t be sure the clothes weren’t tagged and they were all clearly military issue. He pulled on the clothes he’d been wearing four days ago and ran to his Captain’s door. 

“Captain, we need to talk,” he said with unmistakable urgency. She cracked the door open and he winced when he saw the rash that had formed on her skin from his stubble. He forced himself to keep his hands to himself; however and focus on the issue at hand.

“What is it, Major?” she asked in her typically gentle voice.

“We were following Kalinin, ma’am.” he said, hoping he didn’t have to spell it out for her. 

“What of it?”

“His call sign was never Oberon,” he ground out. Her eyes widened and she nodded her understanding. “We can’t leave in the clothes that are here, and you need something that is not so military,” he said softly. Her purple eyes began to narrow as she realized what he was saying.

“You can’t leave me here,” she whispered. 

“I don’t want to, Ma’am, but I  _ have _ to get you different clothing. If I’m not back in thirty minutes, you put on your skirt and blouse and head for the rendezvous without me,” he told her. He then gave her no chance to countermand him and took off. He wasn’t planning on buying anything so it shouldn’t take too long to find what he was looking for. 

Teletha Testarossa went to the mirror in the room she had chosen and stared at her face for what felt like the thousandth time. 

She wanted to hate Major Weber for being her first; but she couldn’t. Neither of them had been in control. It hadn’t taken her long to guess what AMALGAM had wanted to do with the gas; and Weber was right. As much as it pained her there was a very good chance that Andrey had betrayed her trust. “More like manipulated me,” she amended aloud. 

She could see faint bruises on her arms, shoulders, ribcage and hips from the sexual marathon she and Weber had undergone. She was still sore in places; although she had never felt more relaxed. She allowed herself to think of the things that Weber had done and was amazed that she didn’t blush; although she did get rather warm. 

She shook herself out of her reverie and checked the time. Weber had been gone five minutes. She quickly showered and dried off. She went through the clothing in the room she was in and came to the same conclusion the major had. It was too risky to wear them. She then had a thought that gave her pause and she ran, still naked, from the room. 

When she made it to the radio room she went over every single piece of equipment, ending up dirtier than she had been before her shower. She was; however, satisfied that there was no way anyone knew where they were. 

“Um, Captain?” She spun in shock to face an extremely red faced German. He kept his eyes on her face by sheer dint of will, it seemed. Instead of being embarrassed, the platinum blond allowed her own gaze to wander to his dick. Her question answered, even without the drug in his system he found her attractive.

“Captain, perhaps you should shower and put these on,” he said to her; forestalling her when she opened her mouth. He had a sinking feeling that the drug wasn’t completely out of her system; his either for that matter. The sooner they got back to the Tuatha De Danann the better.

XO Mardukas collapsed into his chair behind a closed door an hour after the Captain was back on board. Had Major Weber not looked as if he had been raked over the coals by his own conscience; and Mardukas had to admit it looked like he hadn’t gotten any more sleep than the others who had been caught in the gas. 

From what the medical team had told him, there was a good chance that the two of them were more than likely going to succumb once again. He could tell from the major’s protective stance he was worried about his Captain; and that was the other reason he hadn’t killed the man on sight. 

“XO Mardukas,” he was startled out of his fuming by his Captain’s soft voice. She was like a daughter to him, she had managed to bring him out of a very dark place and he would be forever grateful to the girl who believed in an old salty dog like himself. 

“Captain,” he started to rise, but she waved him back down and sat down in a seat across from him.

“I think it would be best if I handed command over to you for the time being, Mr. Mardukas,” she said. He could see the tears that were welling up in her deep amethyst eyes from the admission. His first instinct was to deny that she needed to; but they both knew she had been compromised and may not be fit for duty. This was a woman who would never ask her crew to do something she couldn’t or wouldn’t. She also knew that if she expected her crew to follow regulations, then she had to follow them as well. 

“I won’t say I am against the notion, Captain,” he replied frankly. She  nodded; for one long moment he thought his Captain was going to break down. She raised her chin and nodded once more before excusing herself and leaving. 

An hour passed as Richard Mardukas went over the reports that he had gotten from Mao, Weber, Sagara and even Testarossa when there was a brisk knock on his door.

“Enter!” 

“You sent for us, Sir?” Mao asked. It was clear she was unused to being in a ‘ _ civilian _ ’ status. 

“Go over it, from the top,” he ordered after waving them to chairs. Tessa was conspicuous in her absence, but there were things she had done they didn’t need to know about. 

Their verbal reports matched their written, with minor variations. 

“It was odd,” Weber said suddenly, causing the other three to look at him curiously.

“What was?” Mao asked the blond. She was trying to keep the anger and hurt out of her voice, but was having a hard time. 

“Commander Kalinin said ‘ _ Oberon in the Winter Court _ ’,” Mardukas was the first to recognize the problem. Sagara and Mao got it at the same time. 

“So that’s why you didn’t try and contact anyone while in the bunker,” Mardukas said. 

“It must have been, Sir. Normally I would have tried radio contact from the secure transmission immediately,” Kurz pretended not to see the narrowing of Mao’s eyes. When it came right down to it, she had made it clear nothing was ever going to happen between them. She didn’t need to know how he felt when he found out she’d spent the entire three days with Clouseau. 

“I am glad you allowed your instincts to rule you in this instance. All of you,” he said; looking at each of them in turn. “Dealing with the aftermath of this,” he shook his head sadly. 

“The five of you will be going to the new HQ,” he sighed and sat back before continuing.

“Deathrax has been right about quite a bit, so far. He wants Testarossa and Chidori safe; and I want all of you safe,” he waved towards the door. “Dismissed.” 


	11. Chapter 11

#  Chapter 11

The sky was a solid gray that dismal morning. It was well into the morning, yet with the cloud cover the sun had yet to appear. Weather reports were warning of a tropical storm coming through and the birds of the island seemed to be taking the warnings to heart; they were flying away as quickly as they could in the headwinds.

Two seventeen year old girls sat side by side on a loveseat facing out over a normally azure bay. Today it was as gray as the sky, and just as choppy. From behind they looked like normal girls, if their hair colors weren’t so drastically different from one anothers. Knowing the girls were best of friends would surprise no one; they had several things in common after all. 

LIghtning leapt from the trees to the clouds, causing a momentary freeze frame in the windows that protected the two girls from the coming storm. Now they didn’t look so normal. Both were heavily pregnant, although only one of them seemed to be thriving. 

“Melissa is still so angry,” Teletha said after the last of the thunder rolled away. Kaname sighed and shook her head.

“Stay out of it, Tessa,” the dark haired girl said to the blond, who frowned prettily before beginning to pout. “No, they have to work it out themselves,” The darker skinned girl took the paler girls hand in her own and tugged her so she looked at her friend.

“You knew, somewhere inside, that Sousuke and I were together before all this happened,” Kaname spoke gently, but firmly. Pregnancy hadn’t been good to Teletha, her body hadn’t adjusted as well as it should have. The doctors on the island felt it had to do with the Whispered abilities; Kaname thought it was because her best friend blamed her for the whole mess to begin with.

“Yes,” Teletha finally admitted aloud. She had known, and although it had pained her at first she realized that she had pushed them together in the hopes that Sagara would find happiness. She gave Kaname one of her now rare genuine smiles.

“So you owe your happiness to me!” she teased, pulling a laugh from Kaname. 

“Well, I’ll admit you played your part,” Kaname loftily quipped with her nose in the air, getting Teletha to laugh as well. It was too rare anyone heard her tinkling laugh anymore. 

 

Kurz Weber and Sousuke Sagara were both working hard to match Clouseau's pace. The older man kept the younger one’s in shape and on their toes. He had been pleasantly surprised when he’d learned that Sagara worked with the Arbalest as well as he did. Of course, when he saw the stoic military boy with the Whispered girl he understood why. She wasn’t just his reason to use it well, she was his inspiration. He had a feeling she was the only person he had ever trusted completely. 

He brought them to cool down speeds and stretches as they entered the cleared space around the building. That had been done by Sagara and Weber themselves. They had taken the initiative to make sure there was no less than three hundred yards of open space between the jungle and the house. Yes, it made it obvious where the house was, but there was no way anyone was sneaking up to the house from any direction. 

The two had already been friends; if one could call it that, before the attack on Tokyo. Now they had actually bonded. Weber had shown he was far more serious than anyone had given him credit for; but he had also managed to get the famously uptight military boy to relax some, to actually enjoy not having an agenda. 

Ben was happy to see these two working much more effectively as a team. They were now  a pair he’d truly hate to face on the field; and that was good since he was going to have to give them their orders that night. 

“Ben!” Melissa shouted from the house and mentally he shivered. That was part of the order he was going to have a hard time giving. She wasn’t going to understand and since he didn’t either he didn’t know how to explain it.

“Keep your shirt on, Mao!” he shouted back at her with a hearty laugh as he made his way up the stairs. 

“Mardukas wants you,” she said. He heard the despair in her voice and wished he could help. He nodded his thanks and went to the communications room. He was in there for an hour, so missed the commotion that ensued.

 

“Melissa, I’ve had enough of this,” Kaname said to the older woman as she took her beer away from her. Junior was busily emptying the room of every beer can and bottle in the room. The two of them had already cleared out the rest of the house. Kaname had even taken all of her cigarettes out to a specific room that had plenty of ventilation. Melissa may not be pregnant, but she was working hard at killing herself none the less.

“Chidori, I will hit you,” the marine slurred. 

“And if you weren’t slurring your words, I’d worry about it,” Kaname retorted. “You are having black-outs, actually getting sick from all the drinking. You are going to stop,” Kaname told her as she moved out of the way of a wild swing from the woman. She let her hit the floor without attempting to catch her. “You’re always making Tessa cry, Melissa,” Kaname said under her breath. She knew the drunk woman wouldn’t care right now. 

“Well she makes me cry all the time, too!” Melissa said belligerently. Unfortunately Teletha was entering the room to see what the commotion was and heard her say it.

“No, you don’t get to do this when you’re drunk, Melissa,” Kaname said venomously. She snapped her fingers and Sousuke and came into the room and picked her up. “Thank you, Sousuke,” Kaname said as he took her to the infirmary. 

“You really should consider a career in counseling, Ms Chidori,” Killroy’s deep voice said from the hall. She raised her chin to face him as she stepped into the hall.

“Well your so-called counselors didn’t bother to actually force her to deal with her feelings, and went so far as to tell her _ Ben wasn’t under the influence of the gas _ !” she spat in his face. 

There were several other people in the hall; none of whom had known the counselors had revealed that to Mao. They had been under strict orders to keep that secret since Clouseau hadn’t wanted her to know and it had been felt by the medical staff on board the submarine (who knew her quite well) that she didn’t need to know.

Killroy’s sardonic smirk disappeared as if it had never been there when he heard those words. He had seen the psychological work up of the people he had wanted to keep, and even he had known she was far too honorable a woman to handle that kind of information well. 

“Point taken, Ms. Chidori. I’ll see to it that her counselors are reprimanded; and I apologize for my comment,” he said with a bow. She harrumphed but accepted the apology, bowing in return.

“To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?” Teletha asked politely, showing her aristocratic upbringing. 

“I came to check on you, Captain. I wanted to see for myself if the reports I was getting were accurate,” his eyes went in the direction of the med bay. “Clearly they weren’t,” he finished; and no one doubted his anger at the situation.

“Ladies, if I may excuse myself; I’ll see you at lunch?” he asked. Both women nodded and looked at each other with worry after he walked away from them. 

 

“Just let me see her,” Weber said from between his teeth as he tried to get past the nurse at the med bay entrance.

“Major Weber, I will not let you through.” He said firmly, tired of trying to placate the blond mercenary. 

“Why not?” Weber asked angrily.

“Because she needs to sober up,” was the answer. It came from the head doctor on the island. “Not your fault, Major,” he said when Weber’s face began to cloud with guilt.

“How isn’t it my fault?” he demanded in anger and despair.

“She chose to drink, she chose to drink as much as she did,” the doctor said dispassionately. He was used to dealing with relatives who took far too much responsibility for their loved one’s actions. While it was true that Weber was only a subordinate and friend to the Sergeant Major, it was clear he felt responsible for the woman’s safety when they weren’t on a mission. The doctor and his staff knew that with this team they needed to be far more militant than they would usually be to keep order.

“If I hadn’t-” Weber started to speak, only to have another doctor interrupt him

“Stop,” he said, startling the man into silence.

“You are not responsible for her choices. You need to come to terms with that fact, and soon,” she said. His furrowed brows said all the staff needed to know. The female doctor grabbed his arm and turned him from the door then led him to another room. There she she spent several hours discussing his own feelings in regards to what had happened. She left him exhausted and drained; but seeing things a little more clearly than he had in the eight months since the attack. 

“I am taking care of the counselors right now,” Killroy told the doctor when she stormed into quarters that afternoon. 

“Good,” she said angrily. “These people suffered and they are only just now starting to deal with it, and that’s not healthy for any of them,” he nodded his agreement; although she didn’t see it as she had already left the room.

Lunch had been a stilted affair, and Killroy had a feeling it hadn’t totally been because he was there. Kaname and Teletha spoke easily with one another, both girls teasing Sousuke every so often. He watched as the black haired boy gently teased his Captain back. The young girl didn’t smile as easily as she had before the attack. 

Kaname and Sousuke seemed to be the only one’s who were adjusting well. Killroy suspected it was because they had already formed a sexual relationship before the attack so knew where they stood when it came to the pregnancy. The others didn’t have that luxury. 

Killroy left the island shortly before dark, taking the counselors with him. He had gone through and triple checked the security and the personnel before he left. He wasn’t taking any chances with the Whispered girls. He briefly considered pulling Clouseau, Weber and Sagara from the mission he had planned then decided to leave it as was. The three of them had plenty of reason to work towards ending AMALGAM now than they had before. 

 

Belfangan Clouseau stood on the east wing porch looking out over the jungle forest as the sun set with a deep frown on his dark chocolate face. Hearing that Melissa had been taken to the med bay and was being denied visitors had worried him; finding out that someone had told her about his not being gassed angered him. He was trying to figure out how to deal with that anger when he heard a step behind him. 

Kurz Weber was standing at attention in the doorway to the porch when he turned.

“LT,” Weber said as he saluted the older man. Clouseau’s frown deepened as he returned the salute.

“I formally request to be removed from service to Mithril,” Weber went on. Clouseau widened his eyes in shock. He hadn’t expected that from the man whose whole life had been spent in one military unit or another.

“Denied,” Clouseau said without thinking about it. He wasn’t going to be responsible for this man’s self destruction, no matter if said man thought he deserved punishment.

“Please, Sir, reconsider. I am a detriment to the team,” Weber said. Clouseau let out a bitter laugh before moving to one of the wicker chairs on the landing.

“Sit down, boy,” he said with a shake of his head.

“I’m quite serious, LT,” Weber said as he sat across from the black man.

“I’m sure you are, quite serious and sincere; but tell me Major-how will it benefit the team for you to leave now?” Weber opened his mouth to answer but stopped when he realized he really didn’t know. He knew where he fit in the team’s dynamic-even with Clouseau leading the team instead of Mao. 

“I don’t know,” he answered honestly, and the defeated sound of his voice touched Clouseau. He was also confused as to where he should go next.

“How much do you love her?” he asked the German, and Weber didn’t have to think about it before he answered. 

“I’ll give her anything, be anything, do anything if it will make her smile again,” he closed his blue eyes and leaned back into the chair. “I used to think that’s how I felt about Mao,” he admitted. "Yet, it was never like this for her. For her I just wanted her to see me, not the womanizer everyone else saw. Clouseau nodded his understanding. It was amazing what a few months could change. 

“Is it because of how abusive she’s been verbally?” Kurz laughed and shook his head. 

“No Sir, that is nothing new,” he sighed and opened his eyes to look at his commanding officer. “When I first found out that Melissa had spent those three days with you, Sir, I wanted to rip your head off-but at the same time I kept worrying about Teletha,” he closed his eyes again as he thought back to the first month on the island.

“I had already wanted to find the AMALGAM bastards who had released that gas; the harm they had done is immeasurable,” once again he opened his blue eyes to look at the older French man and those eyes were as hard as glacier. 

“But when I found out that Teletha and Kaname were both pregnant I wanted to do worse to them,” Clouseau once again nodded. Once again Ben nodded. He felt the same. 

“Yet Mao?” 

“I wanted to strangle her,” Kurz admitted with humor. “I can take whatever she throws at me, I got why she was angry with me-” he shook his head and sighed in exasperation. “She has no right treating Teletha the way she has been. Teletha is no more responsible for what happened than she is,” here Weber paused, as if something had just occurred to him.

“And for that matter, neither am I,” he sighed and his whole body seemed to relax. The silence between the two men stretched as they both thought about that statement. Ben came to his own conclusion after a few minutes.

“Still want out, Major?” Clouseau asked the younger man, who shook his head and stood. He held out his hand to the older Frenchman.

“Thank you, LT,” he said as they shook hands. 

“Any time, Major,” Clouseau answered. He waited for the young man to leave before he headed back inside and to the medical bay.

 

“I don’t understand,” Teletha was telling Kaname as they waited for the island’s staff to bring dinner out to them. It was just them and Sousuke that night, and Teletha was more hurt by Weber’s absence than she would admit.

“I don’t either,” Kaname said to her. Kaname often felt as if she were Teletha’s older sister, and sometimes it was wearying. 

“Tessa,” Sousuke said, and there was a gentleness to his voice that was a testament to his relationship with Kaname. “It isn’t your fault,” he went on. 

“But-” Sousuke shook his head once and said, still gently but firmly.

“No but’s, Tessa. It isn’t your fault.” Kaname frowned, unsure what he was talking about.

“We were all under the influence of the gas, none of us had any control of our actions-had we been able to control ourselves it wouldn’t have fallen out the way it did,” he said with his typical honesty. This time, Kaname smiled instead of getting upset. He was saying what needed to be said to the girl who felt so lost without her best friend beside her. “Sgt Major Mao is dealing with it badly, she doesn’t want to accept that no one is to blame,” he continued. Both girls were watching him so intently they didn’t see Kurz come into the room.

“If it’s not my fault, how do I make her cry?” Teletha finally asked the question aloud. Kurz was the one who answered as he took the seat beside her.

“ _ You _ don’t,” he told her, before taking her plate from her and putting food from the serving tray on it. He knew she didn’t eat enough and he was going to make sure she started. 

“But-” once again she was stopped from speaking with a gentle but firm shake of a head.

“Teletha,” Kurz said with finality. “She is angry because of what happened, and until she accepts that it wasn’t her fault, that it wasn’t your fault, or my fault; she won’t stop hurting you,” Teletha’s purple eyes widened with her dismay at hearing that. 

“We want her to get better, we want our old Melissa back,” he said to her, nodding with her once she started nodding. 

“Then we stop allowing her to hurt us,” Kaname said with understanding. “She wouldn’t normally want to hurt us, Tessa - you especially. So we stop letting her,” she said. Teletha swallowed hard as she thought about it, and sighed as she realized they were right. She was the woman’s commanding officer-despite how she felt right now she had to remember that. 

“Very well,” she said with a shaky sigh. “Major-” 

“Kurz,” he interrupted her and she looked at him strangely. “While we are on this island, Teletha, please call me Kurz,” he said simply. She nodded in confusion.

“You haven’t been eating enough, Teletha,” he told her. There was a full plate, although it wasn’t overloaded. “Eat up,” he said before taking a bite of his own food. 

Kaname and Sousuke shared a smile before they both began to eat as well. They had both seen that he cared more for Tessa than Mao shortly after arriving on the island. They both figured Mao had seen it too, and that was the main reason she had become so verbally abusive. Tessa wouldn’t be so hurt if she hadn’t gotten so very personal lately. 

 

The woman so many were concerned with stood shakily in the shower in the room she had been given in the med bay wing. Her whole body ached, her head was pounding as if there were a bass drum band inside it, her mouth tasted of stale smoke and vomit, and she thought she was going to puke again at any moment. 

The nurse standing outside the shower told her she wasn’t getting anymore to drink. She didn’t know why she was in the medbay, or why they were saying she couldn’t have anything more to drink; but she was going to find out and fix it soon. 

Not drinking wasn’t an option. She wouldn’t be able to look at her two best friends if she wasn’t drinking.

The nurse quickly grabbed her around the waist and held her away from the wall as she began to vomit violently again. So caught up in the pain she didn’t hear the nurse call and notify someone of the blood she was throwing up.

The nurse ended up cleaning her up quickly and pulling her out of the shower when she collapsed against her. The woman sighed softly and grabbed a warm towel to dry her off with. She knew how rough this was going to get and her heart went out to the woman; but she would be certain this marine didn’t kill herself with drink. 

 

Belfangan Clouseau listened to what the head doctor had to say and nodded his understanding. From there he went to the dining room where he joined the conversation underway. When everyone was finishing their dessert, he told Weber and Sagara of their orders.

“KRD is certain this is the main headquarters, and Andrey Kalinin  _ is _ there, along with Gates and Gauron,” he told the group. 

“What about my brother?” Teletha asked. 

“Our informants aren’t sure if he is any longer a threat, Captain,” he told her. “It appears that Kalinin has done,  _ something _ with him and we aren’t sure what,” he finished. She nodded and frowned.

“Be careful,” she said to the three of them. “It is possible Andrey underestimated my brother’s psychosis,” she sighed and raised her head, looking like the assured military woman she was. “He may have been taken by surprise; but without the proper restraints and handling my brother could use whatever situation he is in against AMALGAM,” she informed them. Not one of them doubted her - she had grown up with the sick bastard after all.

“Understood,” the three of them answered in unison; making the two women smile with humor. When they all stood up to leave the table Clouseau watched as they split up into couples. He realized that the four of them had been doing just that since they had all arrived at the island. Yet not once had he attempted to stay with Melissa, to help her through her obvious grief. 

No he wasn’t responsible for her choices, but he was responsible for his own.


	12. The End

#  ** Chapter 12 **

Urzu One, Urzu Seven and Urzu Six hit the ground running in stealth mode. Their objective was a deceptively small town on the peninsula of Kamchatka. They and the other AS squads had come in from the Bering Sea side of the peninsula while the land forces were coming in from the Sea of Okhotsk. Air support was coming in from both sides; and the groups would be splitting up to cover the north and south sides of the town to cut off both retreat and reinforcements. 

Not that intel had expected much in the way of reinforcements as KRD had been steadily whittling down AMALGAM’s forces over the last nine months. There was some speculation that AMALGAM’s leaders had decided to ‘ _ test _ ’  the gas when they did in an effort to get KRD and Mithril off their scent. 

If so; it hadn’t worked. Mithril’s own agents had begun to work double time to find out who had put the Darling of Mithril in her current situation. When it was discovered that Lord Mallory had been an unwitting ally of AMALGAM most of Mithril had given up hope that they could actually defeat this compartmentalized group.

Then Sagara and Weber had stepped up with incidents that had been glossed over or forgotten about. Incidents that had been reported to Kalinin and he had buried. It gave the intelligence teams enough to go on to find the separate cells and bring them down. With each cell Mithril ended they found more clues to where Kalinin’s main base was. 

Now, all AS teams were converging on what was sure to be a heavily guarded base. It had taken a full six months to get here and every member of Mithril had the picture of Captain Tessa and Miss Chidori that had been taken during that celebration in thanks to Miss Chidori so long ago.

Andrey Kalinin was going to pay; he was going to pay for having betrayed their Darling and their VIP. Andrey Kalinin was going to pay for the damage he had done to the two women the entirety of Mithril had come to love as their own little sisters.

  


Andrey Kalinin normally kept his cool, stayed calm and rational. There was very little that could outwardly perturb the lifelong mercenary; yet today’s actions by Mithril – a company _he_ had created to test AMALGAM’s forces against - this annoyed him. He stood watch over the surveillance monitors and began to sweat when he saw the Arbalest leading the incoming Arm Slaves. When he saw two other ASes that clearly sported Lambda drivers as well as more advanced armaments than he had allowed them to have … 

Andrey Kalinin cursed aloud before turning to the crazed German with narrowed eyes. 

“ Send out Testarossa,” he ordered. Gates began laughing gleefully as he turned and left the room. Gauron, on the other hand narrowed his own eyes at the Russian. He didn’t like that he had to answer to the man in the first place, but now it appeared the geezer was about to panic. 

“ You wanted to kill Sagara?” Kalinin asked him softly. Gauron simply smiled and nodded. “The get out there and do so,” Kalinin ordered, Gauron almost thought about refusing; but the chance to kill Kashim was too great an opportunity. 

When the room was clear, Kalinin pulled out a laptop and began to furiously type commands into it. He found himself blocked at every turn. Nothing he did could get through to the Arbalest; and if Sousuke had come to terms with the machine –  if he worked with it instead of against it … 

* * *

  


Sousuke, Clouseau and Weber confirmed they were on target seconds before the first group of Zy-98’s burst into sight. 

“ Wow, these Shadow’s don’t understand staying out of the light!” Weber said into the comms as the Urzu Squad began to mow them down. Clouseau and Weber’s upgraded Gernsbacks easily kept pace with Sagara and the Arbalest. 

“ Don’t get bogged down by the ground troops, Sagara! Let our forces do their jobs!” Clouseau said to keep the younger man on point.

“ Not ground forces, Sir!” Sagara replied as a swarm of Alastor s came up from the ground to begin harassing the much larger  ASes.

“ Wasn’t expecting that,” Weber said to himself. Then to the others. “Watch for Testarossa!” 

That was all the warning the they had when the Behemoth shuddered into view. It became clear that Leonard Testarossa was piloting the oversized Plan ten fifty-one. Despite the size the machine was smooth and faster than expected. Sagara and the others were unable to quickly find a way to shut the machine down. 

“Al,” Sousuke said. “Find me a weakness.”

“Already working on it”, replied Al. “Remember Mr. Tsis’s training.”

As their mercenary group hunted for their enemy, the three soldiers had undergone more specialized training to better utilize their AS units. Weber and Clouseau had gotten upgrades upon their psych evals following the gas. Both now had the motivation and drive to properly use a Lambda drive system.

“Don’t will or picture anything into existence," the blond trainer had said. "Know that this thing you want to happen, will. Just because the unit next to you can't enhance a Boxer cannon round or produce a force field, doesn't mean you can't. Inside these machines, in your element, you three are the gods of death and justice. Nothing is impossible!”

Sagara could be the impossible for  _ her _ . He would rid her of the threat of AMALGAM. He would be the partner; the  _ person _ , she deserved. The father their child deserved. Energy surged through him. He felt the Arbalest’s feet glide along the ground. The air flowing along the armor. 

“ Alert”, Al calls out. “Two Venom class AS units just entered the battlefield two hundred kilometers east! Pilots unknown! Threat to right flank of allied forces immediate!”

He keyed up the data. The specifications of one of the Venoms matched Gauron’s AS. He could only assume the other was the German Gates. They outclassed every unit on that flank. They were going to need to split their forces. With dispassion of a seasoned soldier, he assessed the situation. He was the best equipped to handle the two Venom units. Weber and Clouseau could handle the Behemoth threat here easily, but were not skilled enough with their Lam b da drivers to be of much help against the Venom’s.

“ You two take Testarossa”, he calls out while turning to the new threat. “Back me up if you get a chance!”

The two mercenaries acknowledge his orders as his IS sprints off. The Behemoth before them actually throws one of the Zy-98’s at Weber’s Gernsback. It is shot down before it can cause trouble, but Clouseau gives the mech a shot it has to deflect. One can almost see the confusion on the machine’s face. The two M9’s circle carefully, trying to track the little machines as well as the giant. 

Weber watches the Behemoth’s legs as it moves further into the field. He catches the tail end of a thought and lets his instinct take over. He could almost hear his Teletha in his head as he slid through the 98’s, cutting down the one that got in his way. 

He could see Clouseau’s M9 on his monitor, moving in a mirror of his own. The two men didn’t think, simply let their hind brain make the decision. When Testarossa brought the arms of the Behemoth up in an attempt to strike out at the machines; Clouseau shot up to fire point blank into the lumbering machine’s head while Weber thrust forward to slide his molecular blade into the red menace’s weak spot on the underbelly. 

As fast as Testarossa was; the damage that Andrey had done to the former genius prevented him from being able to fully utilize his own Lambda drive. The shots to the head blinded the psychotic boy while the strike at the only vulnerable area paralyzed the machine. Both M9’s were out of range of his sudden tantrum like flailing in seconds, they turned to help Sosuke as the machine exploded behind them; taking out the rest of the 98’s.

The battlefield was a chaotic mess, but any machine with a Lambda driver passed through it as if it weren’t even there. Sousuke and his opponents only had eyes for one another. There were some obvious differences in technique, though. The Venoms struck down anything in their way, even as the Arbalest was practically dancing amongst the clashing forces. Gauron and the German knew something was off when the opposing machine seemed to jump off a passing missile to gain even greater height as their clash began.

The two men were off-put as the young soldier was on the offensive immediately. His attacks were direct and fierce. Their own Lambda drivers worked laboriously as they deflected blow after blow. Much to their chagrin; however the armor on their machines was steadily being chipped away despite the energy constructs they created. 

Gauron grit his teeth and focused as he never had before. His beloved opponent was much more focused and skilled than he could have believed. The idea that the young man was not using any ranged weapons; and probably could have destroyed them if he had, was chilling. There was a rage and a hate behind the attacks that were of a level he hadn’t felt but a few times before. Yet, the control was so extreme, he himself had to be careful not to lash out in a way that would hit Gates. 

Gates was feeling a combination of ecstasy and terror. This young man Sousuke was more than  Kalinin had told him he was. This was a warrior worth his time. He was more than a man, he was a paladin here to protect the puppies, kittens and other weaklings of the world with blood and bone. That this creature was pitted against him, burned him to his core. His every instinct told him to run, hide, and never cross this young man again. The grin on his face never faltered. This was his element. This was what he was born to do. The battlefield was his art and canvas, and if the paint was his own blood, so be it. 

Meanwhile, Gauron opened his comms to  make direct contact with the young soldier.

“ Amazing,  Kashim ! You have become so much more than I expected! Did that little beauty of yours inspire you to such heights?” The psychotic mercenary taunted. “Perhaps she will inspire me as well.”

Sousuke responds by throwing a punch backed by such force that the limbs were shredded off the body of the mech and the torso was pitched through the air. Gates tried to take advantage of the opening, but his energy packed shot was deflected by a shield. The Arbalest spun and threw it’s blade straight into the Venom’s cockpit. Then walked to the remains of Gauron’s mech as the other falls to the ground. 

“ N-not  Kashim any more”, coughs the wounded madman. His body broken and bleeding from being tossed about. “You have become something else. *cough cough* It won’t be enough. Y-y-you’re still an animal. Still like me.” Any further comments were cut off as a shot flies in.

“No comments from the peanut gallery.” Weber quips as parts fly from the cockpit. 

Sousuke turned to face the second Venom as the pieces flew; face expressionless. Although there was a part of him that wanted to tear the machine apart it was no longer a part of himself he couldn’t control; couldn’t ignore. 

Clouseau and Weber flanked the Arbalest as he moved west towards the second Venom. Inside the advanced arm slave the German was laughing maniacally. His excitement had grown beyond his fear once the knife had opened up his gut. He wished he had an extra hand to stroke himself with. This SRT team was not the same as the one he’d been watching. This team was far more disciplined, better trained and he knew he was going to die.

But oh, what a battle this was going to be. 

The injured German turned his minigun to the M9 with the long rifle; that would be the German Kurz Weber. He would give the young man the honor of dying quickly. He wanted to see just how long the Arbalest could hold up.

C louseau saw the movement and opened fire with his box cannon; adding energy to the round that jammed the muzzle of the minigun, causing it to jam and then explode. Gates’ scream of pain could be heard without the radio before Kurz put a round point blank into the cockpit, killing the crazed pervert.

The rest of Mithril’s ground forces had left the fighting of the more advanced AS-es to those best trained for that kind of fighting. Knowing that their special response team would have the Venoms and Behemoth well in hand they had focused on clearing a path to the front gate of the compound. Deathrax had taken the time to clear this invasive force with the Russian government; citing the numerous terrorist activities that AMALGAM had engineered as well as funded. Mithril had no doubts that the local government would be under Kalinin’s thumb; but they had the clearance they needed to seek their revenge.

Andrey Kalinin watched in abject horror as first Testarossa then Gauron and finally Gates were killed far more quickly than he would have thought possible. He had worked hard to ensure that Sousuke would be able to use the Lambda driver, of course; but he had been nowhere near to having this kind of control before the incident with the gas. 

Kalinin reached out to his computer to type in a command and saw his hands shaking. He realized he was afraid; truly afraid, of what his surrogate son would do to him.

T he silver haired man took a deep breath and forced himself to relax before sending a quick order to the Xia Yu twins Fan and Lan.

‘ _ Slow them down; keep them away from me as long as possible _ ’

* * *

Ben Clouseau dropped lightly to the ground at the main entrance to the compound. Sounds of gunfire and explosions could still be heard in the distance but closer to his location the fighting was done. Mithral’s Urzu One had cleared a direct path for Urzu Two. Weber and Sagara each landed as silently as he had and now flanked their commanding officer, shoulders squared and faces grim.

“ We’ve seen evidence of the Xia Yu twins,” the other Lieutenant reported quickly. “We haven’t seen their arm slaves; but that doesn’t make them any less dangerous,” he warned them.

The main entrance was nothing more than a long hallway. Clouseau moved forward first, sliding along the left wall to disarm the first of several trip wires that were visible with the heads up. Weber settled onto one knee with his Walther at the ready. Sagara slid along the right hand side five feet behind Clouseau, watching for any movement from the front.

They heard the giggle after about five minutes. When Clouseau turned to check on Weber he shook his head in the negative. He was fine where he was and they all knew the twins were ahead of them. Clouseau turned back and disarmed the final tripwire silently and fell back to where Sagara was holding position. 

“ They won’t come out unless we split up” Clouseau said softly. Sagara nodded. The Xia Yu twins were deadly, highly trained assassins that were also quite mad. The dossiers they had gotten on the Chinese girls made it clear that Gauron had raised them and had them trained after he had their village wiped out. Clouseau hoped that hearing that the bastard was dead might cause them leave the fight; he didn’t like the idea of killing the girls when it wasn’t their fault they were what they were.

“ Gauron would have twisted them, Sergeant Major,” Sagara said quietly; as if reading the dark skinned man’s mind. “They aren’t victims any longer.”

Clouseau took a moment longer to decide then nodded.

“ You take left, I’ll take right.” The two soldiers checked their weapons and gave Weber the sign they were splitting up. The sniper waved two fingers forward and slid so he was prone. There was a chance one of the assassins would come for him and he would be ready.

Sousuke Sagara checked the right hand hallway as well as the left before he moved into the left hall. His gun in his right hand, Sagara knew he needed to keep loose enough to be ready for the attack but felt himself tensing up. His last conversation with Kaname played through his mind briefly. Her command to come home to her helped him relax, as did the knowledge that Mao’s recovery was still going well.

Neither he nor Weber had spoken about the pregnancies; he himself thought that bringing it up when he might not be there for the birth would jinx it. Yet his Kaname sounded tired and thrilled at the same time. 

His training is what saved him. It was Fan who came from the shadow of a doorway on his left. He caught a flash of green just seconds before she struck out with a small knife in her right hand. His body slid to his left so his back was opposite the open doorway. He swept up his left arm out to deflect the movement away from himself. 

His soldiers fingers closed upon a slim wrist and he pulled it behind him as he turned. He heard the popping sound of a joint being dislocated and a feminine gasp of pain and surprise. He continued to yank the arm as he brought right hand up and pulled the trigger on his glock three times. He used his right elbow to knock her head back as she bent forward before then pulling the trigger twice more into her face.

The echo of the ten millimeter weapon was loud in the barren hallway. Sagara frowned, however when he heard an explosion followed by three more shots fired from the opposite direction.

Clouseau had kept low and slow to keep from making too much noise. The downside to being older and boxier than his younger soldiers. His eyes were constantly moving across and around the hallway in an effort to catch any stray movements. He had already passed three closed doors. He had been sure to place a small C4 charge with a small battery on the handles of each door. If the handle moved, the charges would explode. 

He paused on his haunches when he thought he caught a flash of red ahead of him where the hallway turned to the left. He missed the sound of sneakers on tile behind him and took a slash to the his right side and back. He used the momentum of the blow to roll forward and twist so he was now facing his attacker. His body armor had deflected the strike, so he wasn’t bleeding, but it was a close thing. 

The small Chinese girl smiled coldly at him before moving forward in a blur; the machetes she was using flashing in the light. He allowed her to think she was pushing him back for three steps before he twisted to his left and swept her feet out from under her. The crack of her skull hitting the tiled floor was loud. 

Lan was dazed but not out and she recovered far more quickly than he would have thought possible. Her movements were only slightly slowed as she twisted herself back into a standing position. Ben cursed as she made it to her feet just as his pistol cleared it’s holster. Once again she was twisting the blades; but he was able to detect a small hitch in the pattern now. She had a concussion and it showed. 

He turned to his right, putting his back to the wall and sliding himself back towards the main hallway. Clouseau was watching her hands and her feet, waiting to see when she was going to break pattern and strike out at him. He failed to watch her eyes and shoulders so missed when she rolled her shoulders. He caught the tail end of a whip as it struck something to his left and twisted his head away from it as it popped. His left arm raised just in time to protect his face from the sudden explosion. 

The force of the explosion slammed him into the opposite wall with enough force to cause him to blackout for a brief moment. He had managed to keep his hold on his pistol, though. When he saw the blurred shadow of movement on his left he quickly shot three times at the center mass. His vision began to clear shortly after a heavy warm mass landed on his injured left side.

The blond German narrowed his eyes in frustration at the sounds of gunshots and explosions. His desire to be in the thick of the battle battling with his orders to keep the entrance clear. 

After what seemed like an eternity he saw Sagara in his sites at the corner of the intersection. The younger man gave the correct sign and Weber gave the all clear. Once Sagara had crossed he switched the radio to the backup frequency and called in the reinforcements. Weber moved forward once the first group arrived, he gave the order for two of the other team’s snipers to follow him to help him watch the two corridors. He knew Sagara would have it well in hand; but he needed to help his team.

“ Urzu six; we need a medic immediately,” Sagara’s voice was as calm as ever, but there was an edge to it. 

“ Copy that Urzu seven,” the blond replied, signaling for the medic that was with the other team. The soldier kept low and behind him as they moved down the right hand hall. It was near the end that they could both smell and see the explosion. 

Xia Yu Lan was lying in a pool of blood against the left hand wall, Sagara had clearly shoved her away from the wounded Clouseau. Benaflagam himself appeared to be struggling to move, the medic snorted as they reached the two men.

“ Good luck Sergeant Sagara, Clouseau never listens,” the man said with humor. Between the three of them they managed to get the older man to be still long enough for the medic to get a good idea of what was wrong.

“ Well, he’s got a concussion as well as three broken ribs. I can tape up the ribs; but he isn’t going to be able to focus very well,” the medic said. His dark head was shaking as the older black man started speaking rather loudly.

“ I can still fight,” Clouseau insisted. Sagara as well as the medic shook their heads. When he realized that he could see their mouths moving but hear no words he raised his hands in surrender.

“ I can’t hear you!” He said loudly. “I’ll go with the medic.” Sagara and Weber seemed to sigh in relief before helping the older man back to the second team. 

“ Sagara, keep your comms open to channel five,” the Major of the second team ordered softly. “We have hacked our way into the security cameras for the next four levels so we’ll be able to let you know if there is opposition ahead.” The young soldier nodded before turning to his partner and heading back out.

This time they didn’t split up, they decided to go down the right hallway and see if they could make their way down. Unlike Clouseau they moved quickly if carefully; being sure to check all rooms briefly before moving on.

Forty minutes later they managed to find a stairwell leading down. There was no word from command so they kept going at the same cautious clip. When they encountered no resistance in the next thirty minutes they decided to rest in one of the rooms they were checking. 

“ Sagara,” Weber said suddenly, the whisper shockingly loud in the absolute silence that surrounded them. Sagara grunted in response.

“ Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?” He asked, the question surprised the younger man into looking at him. “I know, it’s not something you and I have talked about, but,” Weber huffed out a breath before continuing.

“ I don’t know why I’m asking,” he admitted, prepared to drop it.

“ I hope it will be a girl,” Sagara replied softly. “One with Kana-chan’s eyes.” Weber looked at the younger man in shock only to return the smile the Japanese boy had. 

“Well I’m kinda hoping it will be a boy,” Weber admitted. “But I want him to be as smart as Teletha.” Both men took deep breaths and they went back to their search a little more energized.

It took another two hours to reach the fourth floor down. From there they could easily see why their team was unable to hack their way into the security system. This part of the building had been built upon an old fallout shelter and was using not only a different power source but an entirely different security system.

“Urzu six and seven at bottom level,” Weber reported softly. There was a brief click of acknowledgment and the men waited. It took only an hour for the other three special response teams to join them at the new entry point. Once the bunker doors had been opened, Weber held up a hand to get everyone’s attention. 

“ I was given a strict command by Captain Testarossa,” he said with an indulgent smile. Every man and woman there gave him their undivided attention. “We are to come back in one piece,” he said as he looked over the group. “Every last one of us.” There was a round of smiles and a brief  humph of affirmation before they moved en mass into the underground shelter.

* * *

Andrey Sergeivich Kalinin, Lieutenant Commander of the Tuatha de Danaan and Commander of AMALGAM turned from the screens along the wall swearing.

First the weaponized Testarossa falls to Weber and Clouseau. Then his most promising weapon had managed to kill both Gauron and Gates. Proving once and for all that he was the better warrior; but he wasn’t going to be controlled by Kalinin. No, this boy somehow managed to find his way to working with the AI without Kalinin’s guidance. 

Then the twins die. Normally the silver haired Russian wouldn’t consider it much of a loss, but they had only managed to injure one of the team. It hadn’t slowed them down at all. Yes, they had taken their time getting down here, but it didn’t matter; he had lost.

Well, not yet.

Andrey Kalinin turned faded brown eyes to the old power armor that stood along the left hand wall of the office he was in. It wouldn’t be long before the two Mithril SR teams arrived; no matter how thorough they were in their search. There wasn’t much to search. He made his decision and stepped into the armor. It wasn’t as fancy or as large as the AS units that were in use today, but it would still give him an advantage over the younger men. 

The office was only twenty feet square, not a lot of room to maneuver, and it would hinder him but he was more experienced than both Weber and Sagara. Should the other team attempt to come in it would hinder them more than it would him.

He had been correct, it was only a few moments after he was set in the armor that the double doors burst inward. Sagara, Weber and four other soldiers were at the door, weapons ready. He opened fire with the AK-47 in his hands, laughing as they all dove for cover. 

“ Give it up, Kalinin,” Major Dawson called from the corridor. “Your forces are done, you’re done.”

“ You think this is all I have?” The old commander asked conversationally. 

“ I think you know you’ve fucked up,” the Major replied. “You’ve lost, Kalinin.” The white haired man laughed softly at that. HIs mind raced, however as he knew the truth. This was the end.

“ Tell me, Sousuke,” he said; still in his conversational tone. “Did you really think Miss Chidori would be safe without you there to protect her?” He waited for a response, but didn’t get the one he was expecting.

“ Even if you somehow managed to find out where she was, Andrey,” the boy replied. “You wouldn’t have been able to get her,” there was a pride in the young man’s voice and a confidence he had never heard before that had Kalinin narrowing his eyes.

“ Surrender, Kalinin

So far none of the soldiers had broken ranks, and that was why he was talking. He needed to thin them out and to do that he needed them to be impatient. 

“ Surely you don’t think that Testarossa would be able to protect her?” He sneered. “She was only made Captain because she designed the submarine, you know.” 

He waited for a response from any of the soldiers out there. They were all unreasonably attached to the little whore. She hadn’t even been as good as her psycho brother. He frowned when a full minute had passed and no even spoke. 

He was watching the side of the door that Sagara had dove to so intently he didn’t see Weber’s rifle until it was too late. 

The round slammed into his helmet temporarily blinding and deafening him. He fired blindly towards the door to keep anyone from entering while he recovered from the shot, cursing profusely in Russian.

“ Once again, Kalinin,” Dawson said with the sound of a laugh in his voice. “Surrender.” 

The shaken warrior shook his head in denial as well as to clear it. “Forget it, Dawson. I know that Mithral can’t afford to kill me. There are assets linked to Amalgam that could threaten them without my supervision. Or even shake the world to it’s core. You want me alive? Come in and get me!”

Unbeknownst to him, the team outside the door were readying grenades. Standard procedure did say that they were to capture as many of the enemy as possible, but this enemy knew that. That is why Killroy and the remainders of the board had given an order to supercede that one. If it looked as if there were no chance to capture the traitor alive without losing a single man, take him down with extreme prejudice. They had plenty of information on this organization. 

“ Andrey, this is your final chance. Surrender. We only ask you to as a courtesy to an old friend. Surrender or die.”

His answering growl was all they needed to act. Two of the team blindly fired into the room as the rest tossed in their grenades. Seconds later, the concussion waved smashed the  Russian into the wall in a hail of fire and small pings as the armor brushed off the shrapnel. However, there was a second set of explosions, and then a third. He was on one knee at the end, but still alive despite the dozens of small injuries he had from bits of shrapnel had gotten through the armor. He laughed silently. He would have them when they came into the room to make sure he was dead. The armor would make sure he had the strength to take at least a few with him. 

No one came in. He stayed in place, his body aching in a way that he hadn’t felt since he was young. What was taking them so long? He advanced on the doorway cautiously. Did they give up and leave? No. The push had been too real, too costly. Then what was going on? A few feet from the door, he found their plan. Four blocks of C4 attached to a remote detonator. His world went white before he could think anything else. 


	13. A Happy(ish) ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey gang. Thanks for joining me on the ride. This is the last chapter of One Shot. I may or may not come back to FMP. I guess it will depend on my viewing habits later. 
> 
> Thanks again! Hope you enjoyed it.

**CHAPTER 13**

_**Meanwhile, back on the island.** _

Melissa Mao stood watching the waves as they beat the shore into submission and wondered why they bothered. The shore never changed, it was always there. The water may have taken some sand back into the ocean, but it always brought some back.

She turned at the soft sound of footsteps behind her, knowing it was Teletha. Even nine months pregnant the girl had a purposeful step. Melissa turned and caught her by the shoulders seconds before she missed a step and fell.

“Sheesh, Tessa, please be careful!” She jokingly admonished out of habit before she realized what she was doing. When the girl shyly smiled up at her with happiness she wanted to kick herself. The tear stains on her friend's cheeks were her fault; again. She had snapped at Tessa an hour ago when the blond had tried to get her to eat lunch with herself and Chidori. Now, of course, Mao felt like a gui dan – turtle egg.

“No,” Teletha said as she stood up, straightening her back and a frown marring her oval face.

“What?”

“I said no,” she replied before shoving the stunned older woman into a seat that was behind her. “I am sick and tired of you acting like I’m a pariah!” Melissa had started to stand up when Tessa said this, stunning her into sitting down again. She blinked at her friend and commanding officer with confusion

“Okay, I know I haven’t had anything to drink since before the men left; but I don’t know what you are talking about,” although that was a lie. Melissa knew quite well. She just didn’t want to have this conversation.

“Lying to me is a mistake.” The blond Whispered girl said. She sat down across from the Sergeant Major and motioned with her left hand. Three guards appeared and closed the glass door to the balcony; then stood before the doors, albeit with their backs to it. Melissa knew they could still hear them, but it was clear they were there to keep her from leaving. No one thought she’d jump off the balcony.

“Don’t bother pretending to think about it, Melissa. You won’t commit suicide. It would please your mother too much.” Melissa’s head snapped to the young Captain with wide eyes. Tessa had never used her past to hurt her, or manipulate her.

“Fine, how may I help you Captain?” Melissa tried military formality.

“You can get off your high horse,” was the response.

“Easy for you to say, _Captain_!” Snarled the dark haired woman. “ _You_ didn’t rape Weber!” She shouted.

“Didn’t I?” Teletha asked calmly. Melissa’s mouth closed on the next thing she’d been about to say.

“What?”

“I am his commanding officer; I should have made sure the two of us were separated in locked rooms.” Melissa swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

“You weren’t in control,” she said in her friend's defense.

“Well then, Weber raped me.” Tessa said with the same calm detachment from a second before. “He surely has more control over himself because of his training so should have been able to resist having sex with me.” Teletha nodded her head and began to rise, as if that settled the argument.

“Don’t! For all that he seems to be interested only in sex, if he could have prevented it he would have!” Mao said vehemently. Tessa sat back down and looked at Melissa with confusion.

“Then please tell me how you raped Clouseau?” She asked her friend. “And how is it that he, who was not under the influence of the gas, didn’t rape you?”

Melissa sat there with her mouth opened, staring at the girl.

Inside, Teletha was quivering with anxiety. The new counselors had made it clear that the Sergeant Major wasn’t dealing with her rage and grief. She and Kaname had decided that she needed to be confronted. After several days of discussions Kaname and the counselors had convinced Teletha she needed to be the one to do it.

After she had thought it about she realized they were right. She was the one taking the most abuse from her friend and she knew it was due to her feelings for Weber. Now she waited with seeming patience for Melissa to react. Her counselor had brought up these points already, but it was felt that hearing them from another ‘ _victim_ ’ might force her to look at it differently.

“Tessa?” She asked with confusion.

“I can’t answer that for you,” Tessa said emotionlessly. She relied on her training and upbringing to keep her own tears from welling up when her friend began to cry silently.

Melissa stood abruptly and went to the doors. Pulling on the knobs to open it she screeched when the doors wouldn’t open. She banged on the wood and shouted to be let in. The guards ignored her. She started to hit the glass with her fist when Tessa grabbed her hand.

“Answer the question, Melissa” She said. This time she said it with compassion. The black haired woman shook her head in denial. “Answer it,” Teletha said again.

“I can’t!” Melissa shouted in exasperation.

“Why?”

“Ben wouldn’t hurt me!” She cried out. Tessa moved them back to the chairs, this time sitting next to Melissa while holding her hand.

“He wouldn’t!” Melissa insisted. Tessa nodded to show she agreed. One of the reasons she had recruited him at the same time she had recruited Melissa was his personal honor.

“Then he didn’t rape you?”

“ _Never_!” She insisted.

“Then explain to me how neither I nor Major Weber are responsible for our actions, but you are?” Tessa asked her softly.

Melissa snapped her mouth shut and jumped from the chair again. She began to pace the space of the balcony with quick steps in her agitation.

“I can’t.” Melissa finally admitted after five minutes of pacing. She collapsed into the chair across from Teletha in despair. She knew the counselor she had been forced to speak with had tried to get her to see this exact point. Melissa closed her eyes as the tears once again spilled down her cheeks. “I need a drink.” The woman sobbed.

“No, after all these years, I finally get you steadily sober; you’re staying that way,” Tessa said with such Weber like wit. It caused Melissa to open her eyes with surprise. Teletha Testarossa hardly ever spoke to her like that. She was usually polite. That she could hear Weber’s influence in her voice struck another chord of pain with her.

“Fine, I wasn’t responsible for what happened between me and Ben. Did you have to steal his heart?” Melissa said with a vengeance. “The gas took my will, and _you_ took _him_ from me!” She cried out, letting Tessa have it with both barrels. Yet Testarossa lifted her chin and her blue eyes turned to chips of ice.

“No. You _gave him up_!” She spat back. “If _you_ hadn’t been so hell bent on hurting _both of_ _u_ _s_ he wouldn’t have even thought of me in that fashion!” Melissa’s brown eyes flashed in anger before her head reeled back as if slapped.

“If you hadn’t been wallowing in your own self pity, your own guilt; we wouldn’t have turned to one another for comfort. _If_ you had wanted more from him then you should have made the effort it took to get past it!” Teletha answered with her own blast of anger.

“Not once before he went on this mission did you even _try_ to speak to him without accusing him of something.” Now Teletha had forgotten her own calm and was letting her own hurt out; which was part of what the counselors’ had wanted when they encouraged this confrontation.

“You couldn’t even speak civilly to _me_!” She spat. “Yes, it hurt you that Kurz and I had sex. It hurt _Kurz_ that you and Clouseau had sex!”

Melissa tried to speak, but could find no words.

“I’m sorry you feel betrayed, Melissa. I am; but you can blame no one but yourself for Kurz and I becoming a couple.” Teletha sat back in her seat breathing heavily for a second before continuing.

“I’m glad we are, though. I’m not sorry about that in the least!” She finished, surprising herself with the truth of it. Weber had managed to make himself important to her in the few months they had been on the island.

Melissa stared at the younger woman for a long moment before swallowing her shock. Somehow this girl kept surprising her. Every time she thought she had a handle on how to treat her, she proved the older woman wrong.

“You could have turned him away,” Mao said nastily. Tessa nodded.

“I could have; but he didn’t deserve the way you were treating him anymore than I do.”

“I didn’t mean it, any of it,” Melissa said almost too softly to be heard.

“One thing I have learned being in the military most of my life; just like you have been Mao. Alcohol doesn’t make you do or say anything you don’t want to.”

Once more Melissa’s head reeled as if slapped. There was a constriction in her chest as her breath caught. Teletha stood up slowly, a slight grimace on her face as she held her round belly.

“I know you are hurting, Melissa.” Teletha said gently as she moved toward the door. “But it isn’t our fault any more than it is yours.” She knocked on the door before finishing her statement. “I don’t expect you to actually get over it anymore than the rest of us will; but try moving forward and getting through it.” She went through the doors the guards opened and made her way down the hall.

Melissa turned her brown eyes back to the waves on the shore. The water rolled in on gentle hillocks before breaking up to crash upon the sand with white foam. She wasn’t sure when she started crying, but when Kaname wrapped her lithe arms around the her shoulders and pulled her to her own chest she realized she had been sobbing uncontrollably.

“I’m sorry, so sorry.” She could hear herself whimpering with each breath. She felt another set of feminine arms wrap around her and smelled Teletha’s bath soap. She reached up her hands and grasped the arms tightly enough to bruise, but her crying became even more jagged.

“Let it out,” she heard Teletha and Kaname whispering as she sobbed brokenly. Behind her the guards that were always on duty gave each other looks of relief. They knew their Sergeant Major wasn’t one to feel sorry for herself and this breakdown was past due. The men and women on the security team would be able to relax just a little now that they didn’t have to worry about her acting out of character to harm herself.

 

_**Fourteen days later** _

Kaname Chidori stood in the shower in her room and looked at the roundness of her belly. Part of her felt saddened that she wasn’t thin and lithe yet most of her was excited. True, neither she nor Sousuke had discussed even marriage let alone a child; yet he was fiercely determined to make a good father. She smiled slightly when she thought about the conversation they’d had the night before. She knew it was mid morning where he was, that he should have been working on any number of other things; but he made time to call her an hour before she went to bed every day. He wanted to know if she thought they should move into a larger apartment when they got back to Tokyo, could Al Jr be trusted to help take care of their son. She argued it was a girl, and he simply said of course. She had laughed lightly since she could actually hear humor in his voice. He was being silly when he said it and it warmed her to the core to know _she_ had done that. _She_ had given him something to be silly about. A chance to be real, when he hadn’t had that chance before.

She finished washing up and carefully left the shower, wrapping herself in a soft terry cloth robe before very carefully drying her hair. Gone were the days of bending over to wrap it in a towel before dressing. Now she had to dry it right away. She sighed when one of the nurses came in and took the dryer from her hands.

“Sit.” the woman said, pointing to the chair in front of her vanity. Kaname sat but stuck her tongue out at the nurse who simply stuck hers out in return. It was a daily ritual that comforted the young girl. Kaname knew that KRD had given her family in the States all the pertinent information about what was going on. She had even received a letter from her sister. It hadn’t been encouraging.

She had promised Sousuke that she wouldn’t fight the medical staff when it came to their care of her. The look on his face when she had complained about having to have a nurse help her dry her hair and dress had stopped her cold. His very real fear for her and the baby had made her cry.

“Now, don’t ye go thinkin’ about yer man!” The Scottish woman admonished gently. “Ye don need ta be crying this early in the morn’.”

Kaname gave a soft laugh as her hair was finally dried.

“Hai!” She said with a mock salute.

“Well now, if thas how yer feeling!” The nurse joked before pulling a bag out of the closet. It wasn’t a bag that Kaname recognized. She got a suspicious look on her face. Making the nurse laugh again.

“Yer man does think of ye!” She said heartily, pulling out a perfect copy of a Mithril dress uniform. Kaname smiled and then broke into a fit of giggles.

“Did he _really_ get you to buy that for me?” She asked the woman.

“Well, no,” she admitted. “That would be Mr Killroy what did that. For a day just like today,” she said slyly. Kaname narrowed her brown eyes at the woman for a second then her eyes widened with joy as she realized that meant the crew was coming home.

  


Two doors down on the other side of the hall Teletha was having the same reaction. It was her uniform but meant to fit her rounded stomach. Kurz was coming home! She wanted to jump and dance but the nurse wouldn’t let her.

She had promised Kurz she would take better care of herself and the baby. She had actually kept her promise despite the stress she had been through with Mao over the last month. Things were better now that Melissa had started to come to terms with what had happened. She had even admitted she was happy for Teletha and Kurz.

“I may have pushed him away,” she had said one night as the girls were watching the rising stars. “But even I can see he’s happier with you than he would have been with me.” Teletha had squeezed her friend's hand in gratitude. She had never known she could actually care for someone as much as she did the older man. Granted, he wasn’t that much older than she was; but still it surprised her. She had missed him this last month.

When she exited her room and saw Kaname dressed in the same uniform she grinned happily. So there was to be a theme today. Neither were surprised to see Mao in her own dress uniform; although it didn’t have a skirt. The older woman gave a humorous smirk when she saw their matching outfits. Shaking her head she pointed to the wheelchairs that were waiting for them. Both girls pouted but sat; they knew how long that walk was going to be.

Kaname, Teletha and Melissa stood on the concrete pier under the noon sun. There were a dozen guards that could be seen standing watch with them as they waited for the Tuatha to break surface and dock. Both the raven haired and blond haired beauties were refusing to seat themselves in the wheelchairs despite how heavily pregnant they were.

Sergeant Major Mao stood with her back straight even if she wasn’t quite at attention. The older woman stood close to the two girls even though she was clearly uncomfortable. Behind her eyes it could be seen how she felt about herself.

There was a sudden cheer as the stealth submarine broke the surface with hardly a sound. She was a beautiful sight in dark blues and grays. The rounded nose split the water silently as it slid through to reach the pier.

Once the ship was still crew members boiled out of the hatch behind the tower to get the Whisper created ship moored. The men and women of Mithril had the submarine moored in record time. Before the gangplank was extended the forward bay was opened and the Arm Slaves were brought out for inspection.

Each pilot joined the crew after lining up in formation. All three women standing on the pier searched the faces for three special men; who seemed to not be there.

Richard Mardukas called the crew to attention before turning his attention to the shore.

“Urzu 1, Urzu 6, Urzu 7,” he paused for a second. “Fall in!”

The three AS’ with Lambda drivers decloaked and landed in tandem before the three ladies on the pier, the Arbalest in the center. The pilots exited their machines and landed lightly in front of the three. Where the rest of the crew had maintained a serious expression on their faces for the grouping, these three didn’t hide their smiles and joy at being home.

“Captain Testarossa, your crew awaits your inspection!” Richard Mardukas announced from the Tuatha’s air strip. The heavily pregnant woman looked at the crew from her place on the pier, looked at Kurz’s smiling face and smiled herself. Her entire face lit up with joy as she responded.

“Hang the inspection, send them to liberty!” There were wide eyes all aboard the ship until they saw their Captain throw herself; as best she could, into a laughing Major Weber’s arms. When her movement was followed by their Kaname being swooped up by Sergeant Sagara and even the newly made Lieutenant Commander Clouseau grabbing Sergeant Major Mao and pulling her into a bear hug – there was a roar of approval from the ship.

Richard Mardukas didn’t even try to speak over the roar, simply gave a hand signal for all to be dismissed. He himself was smiling with relief. He was grateful that Testarossa was doing well. He was also relieved that Ms Chidori seemed to be doing well. He knew being separated from her had caused the young Major stress. Urzu Squad 1 had pushed harder than anyone to find the traitor and bring his organization down. He hoped that Mithril would now have time to truly rest and recover without AMALGAM pulling strings behind the scenes.

Teletha Testarossa turned to face the ship as she heard the gangplank clattering. The crew were quick to get off the submarine with all of them having liberty for at least seventy two hours. It may have been unheard of; but Teletha had discussed it at length with Mardukas. The time it had taken to find and destroy the center of AMALGAM had taken it’s toll on her crew; they deserved to be rewarded.

She raised her arm in a salute she kept until the last crew member had disembarked. Once they were all gone she was unsurprised when Kurz picked her up and carried her to the nearest wheelchair.

“I won’t break you know,” she said sardonically. He shook his head and squatted before her, his hands on the armrests of the chari.

“I have no doubt about that,” he answered with his typical grin. “But watching you stand there made _me_ tired and _my_ back hurt, so you’re sitting for a while.” Teletha surprised herself with the laugh that bubbled up.

“I missed you Mr. Weber,” she said while she laughed. He gave her his sunny smile before leaning up to kiss her lightly.

“I missed you too, Captain.” The young man said with affection before moving to push the chair back to the house. Sousuke and and Kaname were waiting for the couple and were quickly in an animated conversation. Belfangan watched Melissa’s face as the four younger people headed up the long road.

“You look better,” he said before tugging her left arm to get her to walk. She heard a slight hiss from him and her eyes narrowed as she stopped to look at him.

“What was that?” She demanded and she sighed, rolling his eyes.

“I was injured, it’s healing,” he said shortly and the Sergeant Major growled. “Melissa!” He said before she could get too worked up. “I will live,” he said. She let out a breath in a huff before leaning against the railing on the pier.

“Tell me something,” she said angrily.

“What would you like to know?” He asked lightly, he was afraid he knew what she was going to ask.

“Why would you put yourself at risk just to have sex with me?” His brown eyes darkened in a way she had never seen before, and once again he took her left hand in his right.

“For as long as I’ve known you, Melissa Mao, I have wanted you.” He answered. He was as honest as he could hope to be, as transparent as he knew how to be.

“Ten years?” She asked dubiously. He nodded solemnly. “You never…” she stopped and looked away.

“You were always angry,” he said. She smiled at the understatement. She had been out to get herself killed. Somehow prove she was better than the boy her parents never had. Her relationship with Ben and McAllister had kept her sane when she was kicked out of the United States Marine Corp.

“You could have said something in Kowloon!” She blurted, then was chagrined when he laughed softly.

“You would have decked me, Mao.” He shook his head. “We didn’t see each other often enough after that for me to press for anything more than buddies -” he sighed and looked up the road to the house that overlooked the bay.

“When I realized you had been hit by that gas…” he shook his head. “My first thought was to get you to a safer place; but you were already too far gone to move.” He moved to her left side to lean against the railing beside her.

“You were so out of it, you didn’t see me and then started to shout out to someone on the street.” The African man took as deep a breath as he could with his chest wound before releasing it slowly.

“I had to stop you, and when I did …” now he grinned as he remembered the way she had taken him down. “You kissed me like you meant it, Melissa. I knew you weren’t in control; but I wanted you and I was able to convince myself you really wanted me.”

“The doctors said you didn’t get hit with the gas,” she said with a frown.

“I didn’t get hit with it the way you did, no.” He admitted. “But when I was back on the Tuatha with my injury they noticed some anomalies in my blood work. Once it was compared to Sagara and Weber’s the realized that I had gotten enough to loosen my control.”

Belfangan Clouseau looked down at their joined hands. She hadn’t pulled away from him, that was good. No one on the ship in med bay had been more surprised by those findings than he himself. The doctors had shaken their heads when they realized that it had affected him so differently.

“So, you really weren’t in control either?” She asked, almost hopefully. He looked up into her pale face and brown eyes. She did look better, her natural color was almost back and she didn’t look like she was going to waste away into nothingness. She didn’t sound completely like herself and he could see traces of tears on her cheeks; but that was a good thing. It meant she was healing.

“I’d be lying if I said no, but I can’t say yes either,” he admitted. “How much do you remember?” He asked her. Her blush answered the question for him.

“I know I _could_ have prevented what happened. I could have done it without hurting you. I just didn’t _want_ to. Was that the remnants of the gas I inhaled that clung to you, or were floating on the air? I don’t know,” his shoulders drooped when she took her hand from his to walk away from him.

“If I had asked, instead of quite literally pouncing you, what would you have said?” She had moved in front of him to ask the question. There was no one near to hear them, but he knew why she was so quiet.

“God yes,” he answered. She rewarded him with a searing kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her slight body into his heavier one as she wound her arms around his neck.

They held like that for several moments before breaking the kiss.

“I’m glad I’m not pregnant,” Mao said with an almost normal mischievous grin.

“Why?” He asked warily.

“‘Cause now I get to fuck you…” he put his finger on her lips and shook his head.

“Make love.” He said in response to her confused look. The smile she gave him was real and she kissed him again.

The two broke apart and looked towards the road when they heard a mechanical throat clearing. It was Jr with a wheelchair.

“Ms. Mao, Mr. Clouseau. My apologies for interrupting, but Mr. Sagara said Mr. Clouseau would need the chair due to his injuries.” Mao turned and looked at the black man with an accusation.

“He’s being over protective. You know how he gets!” She pointed to the chair and he moved as quickly as he could to get in it.

 

 

_**August 2nd** _

Two young men stood side by side holding tiny bundles of blankets. One set of dark brown eyes and one set of deep blue eyes fixed on the small faces those blankets held.

“Hey you two,” an amused smokey voice said from behind them. “We’d like to see them sometime today.” Melissa and Ben laughed as Sousuke and Kurz turned their heads and blushed with remembrance. No one had been allowed to be in the room with the girls when they delivered due to small complications. Both mercenaries had spent twelve hours between pacing and sitting staring at the door into the delivery room. Even the usually calm and put together Sagara was disheveled.

Kurz Weber, now twenty-six lifted his arms to show his son to his friends. The tiny body was pink from it’s recent bath. He had very light peach fuzz on his head and his eyes were scrunched closed. He wasn’t crying, but Weber held him as if he might start at any second.

Sousuke was a little more assured as he held his daughter. Her skin was light tan, close to her mother’s. Her blue eyes were open and she was looking up at her father’s face as if she already knew he would end the world for her.

Clouseau and Mao were careful not to disturb the infants. Melissa looked up at Weber and realized he was watching her warily. She blinked her own brown eyes and gave her friend a brilliant smile.

“You did good, soldier,” she said with mock harshness. “He’s perfect.” She said softly before leaning in and kissing his cheek. “I’m proud of you.” She said softly.

“For getting Teletha pregnant?” He asked with his usual humor. She shook her head as she answered.

“For being man enough to know you loved her,” she answered. His blue eyes widened slightly before he nodded.

“Thank you, Melissa.” He responded before returning the kiss on the cheek.

As Sousuke and Clouseau spoke softly over his daughter Melissa realized she didn’t know their names.

“Weber, Sagara. What are their names?” This caused an amusing look on their faces.

“You don’t have any ideas do you?” Clouseau asked with a laugh.

“I wanted to call her Haru,” Sousuke said, and it was clear he was confused as to why Kaname disagreed with him. “Kana wishes to call her Suzume.”

“Well, I can see the dilemma.” Clouseau said with a smile. “Better to go with what _she_ wants on this one, though.” He advised the younger man.

“I supposed I could always use Haru as a nickname,” Sousuke said with frustration, which had the other three laughing softly.

“Weber?” Clouseau asked.

“I hadn’t thought of a name.” He admitted. “I was so worried about Teletha, I didn’t even think of it.” He grinned sheepishly. “She says we’re calling him Carl Mallory,” then he shrugged. “I’m okay with that.”

A nurse called the group into the room with the girls.

“They’re resting now, doing fine. _Both_ of them Mr. Weber,” she said sternly to the worried man. “They’re asking for the children though, so…” All four adults smiled and walked into the room to introduce the small one’s to their mothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little bit of trivia for you. This was actually supposed to be a single shot story. I wrote the first chapter because it was haunting me. I forgot to mark it complete and the rest is as is.


End file.
